DOM - Mission accomplished for Feldeine and Co
CARACAS (FIBA Americas Championship/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - The Dominican Republic travelled to the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship in Caracas, Venezuela, in late August with the primary objective of qualifying for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. They had to overcome adversity, but did, and will now be a part of a 24-team field in Spain. Despite ...
CARACAS (FIBA Americas Championship/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - The Dominican Republic travelled to the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship in Caracas, Venezuela, in late August with the primary objective of qualifying for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
They had to overcome adversity, but did, and will now be a part of a 24-team field in Spain.
Despite the absence of NBA superstar Al Horford and two losses in their first three games, a squad led by new head coach Orlando Antigua rebounded with five straight victories to reach the Semi-Finals of the tournament to seal a place in the 2014 hoops extravaganza.
James Feldeine, coming off a breakout season in Spain's Liga Endesa with Fuenlabrada, averaged 14 points per game to lead the Dominicans in Caracas.
What increased the 1.93m guard's value to the side was his free-throw shooting.
Feldeine buried 38 of his 39 (97.4%) attempts at the line.
The native New Yorker of Dominican heritage had played with the team the previous summer but not been given the naturalized spot for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
It instead went to Josh Asselin.
Feldeine nevertheless spoke with great enthusiasm about playing with the national team during their 2012 training camp in an interview with FIBA.com last October and now says that being a part of the squad in Venezuela was a special experience.
"I'm proud to be part of this team," he said.
"I was anxious for this moment. I do not live in the Dominican Republic. I'm from New York, but as of now I know that I can be a help to the team."
The last time the Dominican Republic played at a FIBA World Championship was in 1978 in the Philippines, when the team finished 12th in the 14-team field.
"Our goal was to qualify for the finals and we did," Feldeine said.
The Dominicans had an opportunity to reach the podium in Caracas but fell to Puerto Rico in the Semi-Finals and then lost to Argentina in the third-place game.
"Argentina have a tremendous team," Feldeine said.
"We were able to beat them in the first round but they made some adjustments the next time we met."
FIBA