The word of Mariano Marcos, one of the coaches of the Argentine U16 men’s team that this Monday, from 7:30 p.m., will debut in the World Cup of the category facing Canada.
This Monday the men’s FIBA Americas U16 will begin in Xalapa, Mexico. The Argentine National Team of the category, directed by Leo Gutiérrez and Mariano Marcos, will go in search of one of the four places available for the U17 World Cup next year in Spain. Our country will be part of Group A along with Canada, Brazil and Mexico, rivals that they will face in that order between this Monday, August 23 and Wednesday, 25. All matches can be viewed for free from the BasquetPass.tv platform.
It will be the second experience of the 2005 litter representing our country, after having won gold in the South American U14 in 2019. There, Argentina was crowned undefeated champion beating host Brazil in the grand final. But it will be a contest of great uncertainty after almost two years without a stable official competition for the vast majority of countries. The delegation, which is already in Mexico, concentrated in the Federal Capital since the 9th of this month.
The coaching staff evaluated 18 players to make up the final roster of 12 members. “We found a nice group of guys. Although logically the epidemiological situation did not allow us to be able to observe all the boys in the litter, we are very satisfied with the group that we found. A group with a lot of goals and good percentages, which can be very important in these tournaments “explained Mariano Marcos. On the training process, he added: “The concentration was very positive because it was possible to train without major problems, except for some minor injuries, which did not prevent us from working. In general it was good, so we are confident that we can do things well during the tournament “.
In the final squad, eight of the 12 players who became champions in U14 are repeated, with new faces, especially among the larger players. “I see two strengths, one is effectiveness. At least from what it has shown in these days of training, it seems to me that it is a team that has good effectiveness. And the other strong point is the athletic ability of the big players. They are tall boys with mobility, with shooting, they can defend the perimeter. That can lead us to have an aggressive team from the defense, which allows us to run the court with the five players “explained the coach.
Argentina will debut this Monday at 7.30pm against Canada, perhaps the toughest rival in its group: After a regular phase of three games, all teams advance to the quarterfinals, those who win that match will qualify for the U17 World Cup. “It is the tournament with the most unknowns of all. The vast majority of countries, perhaps all, have the same problem as us. There has been no stable competition for a long time. There is uncertainty about what we will find. One imagines that Canada and the United States are going to be a little bit above the rest, as always. And that the rest will compete because it is really even “, commented Marcos, a coach specialized in training categories and with vast knowledge of young players, who has already represented our country in Argentine National Teams on more than one occasion.
Regarding the goals in the competition, the coach explained the importance of not losing sight of the age of the players and the role of these tournaments: “The emphasis in a formative category is on thinking about the future of the boys. In projecting which boys can be in the Senior National Team tomorrow. Although, of course, we want to qualify for the World Cup to give the litter one more competitive tournament next year, because it is also very important “. Along the same lines, he added: “We aim at development, so that children can gain experience, that they can learn and experience new things. Support them in every way and understand above all things that a formative basketball team is first and foremost. When the game starts we all want to win but in the previous and during the game we think about a continuity in the formation of these boys who today have a huge future. We have to support them so that this future becomes a reality “.
SCHEDULE
Monday 23/08
7.30pm – Argentina vs Canada
Tuesday 24/08
7.30pm – Brazil vs Argentina
Wednesday 25/08
10.30pm – Mexico vs Argentina
Thursday 26/08
Free day
Friday 08/27
Quarter finals
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