South American Women’s Basketball: The Argentine National Team arrives in San Luis this Tuesday

The team commanded by Gregorio Martínez will divide its concentration in La Punta and Villa Mercedes. On Thursday they will play a friendly match with Uruguay at the “Ave Fénix”.

The South American Women’s Basketball Tournament will be held in the province of San Luis, from August 1 to 6. Arena La Pedrera will receive Group “A”, in which Argentina will play, while the covered stadium of “Ave Fénix” will host Group “B”, which has Brazil as the top seed.

The albiceleste team will step on San Luis soil early this Tuesday and will be concentrated in a hotel in La Punta. On Wednesday he will settle in Villa Mercedes and on Thursday he will travel to Juana Koslay to play a friendly match with Uruguay at the “Ave Fénix”. The schedule will be confirmed in the next few hours.

The head coach of the National Team, Gregorio Martínez, has already defined the squad that will defend the title obtained in Colombia 2018. After having trained with a roster of 15 players, during Friday’s session he announced the 12 names that will make up the team: Melisa Gretter ( captain), Agostina Burani, Andrea Boquete, Diana Cabrera, Luciana Delabarba, Celia Fiorotto, Agustina García, Candela Gentinetta, Victoria Llorente, Milagros Maza, Julieta Mungo and Camila Suárez. Those who did not pass the last cut and were disaffected from the team were Sol Castro, Julieta Alé and Florencia Llorente.

From this squad for the South American, eight players from the Americup 2021 are repeated, the last official tournament that was played, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They are Gretter, Burani, Boquete, Victoria Llorente, Cabrera, Mungo, Suárez and García.

It should also be noted that this will be the official premiere for two young players like Gentinetta and Maza, who will have their first tournament in the Seniors after making their respective steps through the training teams. In addition, it will be the return of Delabarba and Fiorotto to the National Team, remembering that the last official presence they had was in the Americas Olympic Pre-Qualifiers in 2019.

Argentina will debut on Monday, August 1 against Venezuela, on Tuesday, August 2, it will face Ecuador, and on Wednesday, August 3, the rival will be Paraguay. After this first group stage, if the National Team manages to finish within the top two in its zone, it will not only get through to the South American semifinals but will also achieve the first objective of the tournament: qualifying for the Americup 2023.

Note and photos: Press Secretariat of Sports and Argentine Basketball Confederation.