BELEM (Brazil) – The FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2019 taking place at the Arena Guilherme Paraense in Belem, Brazil, features 13 young players from the national teams of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay that were part of the Youth Development Program Elite Camp.

To this moment, there have been two editions of the YDP organized by FIBA; the first was in Cambinas, Brazil (December 2018) and included the presence of Brazilian national team players Matheus Leoni Brito, Vinicius Vicenti, Eduardo Sánchez, Daniel Duque, and Vitor Ibiapina. The second was in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina (April 2019), with Argentine national players Lucas Sigismonti, Esteban Cáffaro, Julián Lorca, Augusto Roveres, Santino Romegialli, Lucas Di Muccio; and also featured players Joaquín Rodríguez and Luciano Previatti of the Uruguayan national team.

The YDP takes place through several camps and the development of young players, based on three pillars: promoting greater access to basketball for young athletes, granting them more opportunities to develop their game, and create a platform for the young elite players of the Americas. Now, in the FIBA U16 Americas Championship, players can showcase their skills thanks to the tools they've acquired in these camps.

The tournament hosts, Brazil, will face the Dominican Republic in the Quarter-Finals. The local national team was third in Group B, registering one victory and two defeats. They had a good debut against Puerto Rico (72-58) and then two setbacks; first, against Canada (67-90) and then, against Uruguay (55-68).

In this group phase, point guard Matheus Leoni Brito stood out with 18 points in the debut victory, and then 14 more — which weren’t enough — in their defeat in the second game. This has placed him 12th in the individual statistics rankings, with 13.7 points (31.3 in three-pointers) per game, in 28.8 minutes.

Matheus Leoni Brito Oliveira

Meanwhile, point guard Vinicius Vicenti added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in the debut, and he then contributed 15 combined points in the two last games. For his part, power forward Eduardo Sánchez added 1.3 average points per game and 2 rebounds in 8.3 average minutes. Power forward Daniel Duque only played in the first game against Puerto Rico and contributed 2 points; while small forward Vitor Ibiapina ended the group phase with an average of 1.5 rebounds in 4.4 minutes.

Vinicius Vicenti

As for the Argentine national team, they ended fourth in Group A and in the Quarter- Finals will face Uruguay after losing against the United States (83-57) and the Dominican Republic (90-77) and defeating Mexico (84-75).

The 2.06-meter center Agusto Roveres had an outstanding performance against the Dominicans with a double-double of 29 points and 11 rebounds, and ended fifth in individual stats in the Group Phase with an average of 16.3 points per game, 51.4 in field throws and 7.3 rebounds in 23 minutes.

Agusto Roveres

Small forward Esteban Cáffaro achieved 14 points and 5 rebounds in the game against the USA, 19 points and 7 rebounds against their defeat against the Dominican Republic, and 15 points in their victory against the Mexicans; he also ended sixth in the individual stats, with an average of 16 points per game, 47% in field throws and 33.3 in long-distance throws in a total of 27 minutes.

Small forward Lucas Sigismonti added an average of 4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in 38 minutes; his best performance being the victory against Mexico, with his contribution of 9 points.

Meanwhile, Julián Lorca played two games where he averaged 0.5 points and 0.5 rebounds. Shooting guard Lucas Di Muccio, who played the three games, ended with 5.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 23.8 minutes. Power forward Santino Romegialli collaborated with 3.7 points per game and 3.3 rebounds in the three games.

Uruguay ended second in Group B and will now face Argentina. The Group Phase left the Charrúas with a record of one victory, against Brazil (68 to 55) and two losses against Canada (63-101) and Puerto Rico (58-69). Small forward Joaquín Rodríguez stood out in the great victory against the Brazilians with his contribution of 20 points, ending the Group Phase with an average of 11 points and 4.7 in rebounds per game in 32 minutes. Power forward Luciano Prevatti only played two of the three games, scored 4 points against Puerto Rico and contributed 6 rebounds in the game against Canada.

Argentines Lucas Sigismonti and Esteban Cáffaro, as well as Brazilian player Matheus Leoni Brito, were selected in the camps to be a part of the FIBA Americas Elite Squad.

FIBA's mission is to offer players the necessary tools to be impactful on their National Teams while focusing on youth development and the progress of basketball with a vision for the future. Now, in the FIBA U16 Americas Championship, it's the time for players to show everything they've learned and leave their mark on their national teams.

FIBA