Pablo Cormick Aug 13, 2023, 20:27 ETRead: 3 min.
Gabriel Deck suffered a torn internal collateral ligament in his left knee in May.@cabboficial
The goal of reaching the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 begins for those selected who did not qualify for the Basketball World Cup in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. From August 14 to 20, the Olympic Pre-qualifying Tournament will be held in Santiago del Estero and La Banda (Argentina) that will award a place for the FIBA Olympic pre-Olympic tournaments for next year.
The seven participating teams, due to the resignation of Panama, will compete in two groups of which the best two from each zone will access the semifinals.
Group A is made up of Argentina, the Bahamas and Cuba, while group B is made up of Uruguay, Colombia, Chile and the Virgin Islands.
The local team, led by Pablo Prigioni, is one of the serious contenders for the title. It has renowned figures such as Facundo Campazzo, Luca Vildoza, Carlos Delfino, Nicolás Brussino and Patricio Garino, while some young people like Juan Francisco Fernández and Francisco Cáffaro generate an interesting mix of experience and youth. The big news is the presence of Gabriel Deck, who suffered a torn internal collateral ligament in his left knee on May 4 in the fourth game of the Euroleague playoff series between Real Madrid and Partizan.
The absences of Nicolás Laprovíttola, Marcos Delía, Leandro Bolmaro and Juan Pablo Vaulet weaken the Argentine potential, which will play this tournament by missing a World Cup for the first time since 1982.
Another great candidate is the Bahamas, despite not having historical achievements at the international level. Coach Chris Demarco managed to bring together the best exponents of his country: Deandre Ayton, Buddy Hield, Eric Gordon and Kai Jones. In this way, with four NBA players, it appears as a team with ample possibilities of reaching the definition of the tournament. Gordon’s last-minute confirmation after receiving FIBA clearance put the Islanders in prime condition, with a squad that also includes interesting role players such as Mychel Thompson, David Nesbitt and Travis Mullings.
Cuba, which finished winless and lost six and did not make it through the first round of the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers, is clearly the weakest team in the group, especially without the presence of Jasiel Rivero and Yoanki Mencía.
The other zone appears more balanced and, at the same time, of a lower level.
Uruguay is the team with the best historical record, although it is in the process of changing players and with Gerardo Jauri as the new coach. Now without Esteban Batista, retired, and with the injuries to Luciano Parodi and Mauricio Arregui, the team will be weak. Joaquín Rodríguez will be the young star of the team and will rely on other references such as Mathías Calfani, Emiliano Serres and Martín Rojas.
Colombia has climbed a step in recent years with some notable victories towards the World Cup, such as the ones it achieved against Brazil and Mexico, but it never achieved a regularity that would place it among the teams with a real chance of qualifying for the World Cup. Jaime Echenique, the first Colombian to play in the NBA, is the team’s hope.
Both Chile and the Virgin Islands are presented as selected ready to surprise and get into the semifinals, although their main objective is to add international friction.
2023-08-14 00:27:00
#Paris #goal #qualifying #basketball #preOlympic #begins
