Rosario’s squad has ‘fighting’ chance in Veracruz

PANAMA CITY (Central American and Caribbean Games) - Panama are looking for the good times to return in international basketball.

A strong performance at the Central American and Caribbean Games could end up being a launchpad for bigger things.

That is certainly how national team coach David Rosario is looking at the opportunity in Veracruz, Mexico, where Panama will be among the sides taking part in the men’s basketball competition.

"We have a group of players that will put up a fight," the veteran tactician said. 

"We know that the competition is going to be tough, but we are prepared to move forward with our team."

Included in the team are Joel Munoz, Trevor Gasking, Mauro Oglivie, Daniel King, Jamal Levy, Chris Warren, Josimar Ayarza, Edward Jones, Antonio Garcia, Jaime Lloreda, Danilo Pinnock and Johnatan King.

Panama are in arguably the toughest of the two pools, Group B, which includes the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Costa Rica.

The competition gets underway on 24 November in Veracruz.

It wasn’t that long ago that Panama were making headlines with some of their performances in international basketball.

In 2005, the team finished fifth at the FIBA America Championship and clinched a spot in the 2006 FIBA World Championship.

The team won the Centrobasket in 2006 and was also runners-up to Puerto Rico at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games, but Panama barely caused a ripple at the World Championship in Japan.

The team lost all five of its games in the Far East tournament and crashed out in the Preliminary Round.

FIBA