Looking abroad

MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy’s View from Downunder) - To be bluntly honest I am a big fan of FIBA tournaments that are held outside of Europe.

No, it’s not some sort of anti-continental bent, it’s more to do with my chances of being asked to cover those tournaments being a lot higher than those near FIBA’s traditional stronghold!

Last week’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) was a classic case in point, and boy was I glad to be there to see such an amazing tournament.

While there was some talk before the tournament that Venezuela was a strange place for such an event, the organisation appeared to me to be very good and the people of Caracas certainly embraced the tournament.

While I was there, I decided to have a chat with FIBA President Yvan Mainini and see how the tournament came to be in Caracas, how a better trained eye than my own saw the level of organisation, and what it means for the future of Venezuelan basketball.

Kennedy: Yvan, thanks for your time. The obvious first question is why is the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela?
Mainini: FIBA is a democratic association and there were two bids for this pre-Olympic tournament from Venezuela and Lithuania. The very high majority decided to have the tournament in Venezuela.

Kennedy: But is this as a good development?
Mainini: I think FIBA’s name is International Basketball Federation, not just European Federation. We have Olympic tournaments in Europe, two U17 and U19 World Championships in a row in Europe, and we have a lot of competitions in Europe.

So when there is a good bid from outside Europe I can understand why people would have a good interest for this. We must help federations to grow, and an event like this is a great moment for a growing federation like here in Venezuela.

Kennedy: How do you see this event helping Venezuelan basketball?
Mainini: It helps the federation in two ways. It is very important to have people who understand what a great event is, and how to be a little more professional. I think we are in a good way because alongside the tournament the Venezuelan Basketball Federation opened new headquarters three days ago. Before that there was just a small room in the ministry for sport.

The second point is that it is important for the image of the federation. (President) Carmelo Cortez is now a person who is recognised by the whole sports community in Venezuela.

Kennedy: To me it looked like a very well run tournament, but what was it like behind the scenes?
Mainini: I have seen a lot of organisation of basketball in my life, something like 50 years in basketball. To be clear there was good organisation at this event, but there are some things I can say were not only just good but excellent.

For example, in the venue there are a lot of things I haven’t seen ever. The locker rooms for the teams were really great, there was a lounge area for coaches with a TV you can use for DVDs of the games.

The press corner is also great. There is a direct line on every desk, and there is a computer for every journalist. It is a great occasion because it gets more professional people working around basketball.

Kennedy: So what is next for Venezuelan basketball?
Mainini: Maybe it is time for something better here because the crowd is warm and engaged with basketball. In Lithuania (at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship), for example, there are people coming only for the Lithuanian game. Here there were people coming for all the other games, and that is an important thing for basketball..

He (Carmelo Cortez) said just two days ago he has a very big interest in being the organiser for the (Americas) tournament next year. I think with 13,000 seats the Poliedro de Caracas is a very good stadium for big events.

Kennedy: Finally, what were your thoughts on the standard of play at this event?
Mainini: I was a little bit surprised, but in a good way for FIBA. There is a good level from the American teams even though it wasn’t their top teams, because we have no USA, Argentina and Brazil here. The others Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic have a lot of good players and some NBA players.

I am very impressed by the performance of the African teams because I have a connection with Africa for many years and I think Africa is the biggest potential for FIBA in terms of players, without doubt.

When I saw Nigeria play it was a really high level and with very strong athletes. What I saw also was the coach of Nigeria was very good, a clever guy, he managed his team very well. Their performance was certainly something new for FIBA.

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

FIBA’s columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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