CHI – Pan-American Women’s Basketball by Chile’s Santader

RIO DE JANEIRO (FIBA Americas Championship for Women) - From Brazil the head coach of the Women's Chilean National Team, Cristian Santander, sent his appreciation of each of the teams that participated in the 2007 Panamerican Games. As we know, USA defeated Brazil in the final 79-66 to come up with the Gold Medal.

The United States conquered Gold for the first time in 20 years, the last time was in 1987 played in Indiana.

Team analysis

BRAZIL

Maintains their power, they are one of the two best teams in the continent.

With the renovation it meant the exit for Helen, Alessandra, Cintia and Janeth, now this team is more defensive and maintains their offensive power.

Iziane and Erika (playing in the WNBA) will be in the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship for Women and hope to go back into the finals.

USA

They went with an NCAA team and they played better as a team. They will bring WNBA players to the Pre-Olympic Tournament as they hope to qualify for the 2008 Olympics. They are the prime candidate to do so.

CUBA

It is a very powerful team with a lot of experience, their level of play has gone down over the last couple of years but they are ranked eighth and are candidates to go into the podium.

Boulet, Plutin, and Soria are the main players.

CANADA

They arrived without Sutton Brown, Kim Smith, Shona Thorbun, Isabelle Grenier (WNBA), they have achieved good results in the last tournaments and ended in the top four in the Panamerican Games.

ARGENTINA

It was tough to lose the first game to Cuba in overtime; we know their courage and temper playing in adverse conditions.

Gatti-Paoletta-Nicolini were their main players, between all of them you can count 9 World Championship tournaments.

The losses of Vega, Rios, Landra Gimena, Sanchez and Liñeira, kept them out of the medal round.

COLOMBIA

They arrived fifth without two of their main players like Erika Valek (Europe) and Cabezas (best center they have).

Their accomplishments deserve a lot of credit.

JAMAICA

They were the tournament revelation and lost by ten points to Brazil, Canada and Argentina, they defeated Mexico.

They have a tall team and versatile players; they have a run and gun offense.

MEXICO

One of our toughest rivals in the Pre-Olympic Tournament did not have a good Panamerican performance. Erika Gomez and Silva are their main weapons. We have to wait if another player comes to Valdivia.

CRISTIAN SANTANDER
CHILEAN NATIONAL TEAM