The Argentine basketball preselection, category U18, began its third week of face-to-face training last Monday at the National Center for High Performance Sports (Cenard). Four players joined in the opportunity, including Tiziana Huici from Corrientes.
The team technically led by Gregorio Martínez already has 17 players out of the 30 called up. The last four to join were Huici (1.70 meters tall), who is currently Tomás de Rocamora’s player (Entre Ríos); Milagros Maza (Libertad de Sunchales – 1.70 m), Agustina Martín (Works – 1.68 m) and Iara Navarro (Paraná Workshops – 1.89 m).
The four players are on the squad that was announced during the month of March for the Fiba Americas in Colombia, qualifying for the U19 World Cup next year, scheduled for December 6 and that until now postponed due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
At first, the practices were remote due to the coronavirus pandemic and three weeks ago the training began in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.
“The basketball players have been training at home since August 3,” they explained from the Argentine Basketball Confederation (Cabb). The trainings consisted of technical and physical foundations, in three different groups, according to the availability of the members.
For different reasons, but especially for logistical and health issues related to isolation, the 30 players on the list released by the Argentine Basketball Confederation could not yet meet.
“Women’s basketball is in an ambitious project of the Argentine Basketball Confederation. Our goals are high, we want to play worlds. We know it will be difficult, but we are going to try ”, confessed Martínez, a coach who was multi-champion with the Union Florida women’s team and who also directed the men’s Obras team.
“We never stopped training despite the pandemic. At the same time, we are happy to return to training with a group of youths from Buenos Aires at Cenard, thinking about how immediate the team that will be seeking qualification for the World Cup is. In November we hope to be able to reunite the entire squad ”, commented the DT.
And he stressed the importance of returning to Cenard: “I want to especially thank you for this opportunity to train on a pitch in perfect condition. For us it is a central issue to work in this space where the infrastructure is very good and the treatment that people give us is spectacular ”.
