Venezuela bet on experience for Kaunas OQT
CARACAS (Venezuela) - Venezuela have 10 players from their team that had a solid showing at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in the squad ahead of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Kaunas
CARACAS (Venezuela) - Venezuela have 10 players from their team that had a solid showing at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in the squad ahead of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Kaunas.
Among them are veterans Heissler Guillent, Nestor Colmenares, Michael Carrera and Miguel Ruiz.
🇻🇪 ¡Presentamos a los 14 convocados para representar a Venezuela en el Torneo Preolímpico de Lituania! 🏀
— Federación Venezolana de Baloncesto (@FVBbasketball) June 8, 2021
✈️ Los dirigidos por Fernando Duró pronto partirán para iniciar su preparación para la cita internacional ⛹🏽#VamosAJugar pic.twitter.com/8pp5WITqE4
At the 32-team World Cup, Venezuela finished second in First Round Group A and ended up 14th overall in the tournament.
Venezuela earned the right to play at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro five years ago after winning the FIBA AmeriCup 2015 in Mexico City, but to reach the Summer Games this time, the Vinotinto will have to make it through an extremely tough OQT.
Coach Fernando Duro's team will play in Group A against Korea and hosts Lithuania. The teams that finish first and second in the pool will advance to the Semi-Finals, along with the top two countries that emerge from Group B, which consists of Slovenia, Poland and Angola.
Only the winners of the OQT will clinch a spot in the Tokyo Games. The other OQTs are in Canada, Croatia and Serbia.
| Venezuela's 14-man squad for FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament | ||||
| Jose Ascanio | Luis Bethelmy | Michael Carrera | Pedro Chourio | Nestor Colmenares |
| David Cubillan | Windi Graterol | Heissler Guillant | Miguel Ruiz | Yohanner Sifontes |
| Garly Sojo | Gregory Vargas | Jose Vargas | Jhornan Zamora | |
Seven of the players in the Venezuela squad - Cubillan, Guillent, Ruiz, Graterol, Colmenares and the Vargas brothers, Gregory and Jose - were in the team that played at the last Olympics.
All four OQTs tip off on June 29 and the Final is on July 4.
Already qualified in the men's basketball tournament field at the Olympics are Spain, Argentina, France, Australia, USA, Nigeria, Iran and Japan.
FIBA