August 29, 2024, 10:40 PM
August 29, 2024, 10:40 PM
After 18 years, the Bolivian senior team will be present at the 2024 South American Women’s Basketball Championship which will be played from this Saturday until Saturday, September 7 in Santiago de Chile, where the Verde will be attending with a fairly young team.
Bolivia will be present under the technical direction of Argentine José Podskoc, who is responsible for the national teams.
The national team is composed of: Julieta Tapia (Shooting Guard), Florencia Marquez (Point Guard), Gabriela Herbas (Power Forward-Pivot), Camila Prado (Point Guard), Miel Eguez (Power Forward-Alera), Sirianne Mendez (Power Forward-Alera), Vanessa Fernandez (Power Forward-Pivot), Jhoselin De La Barra (Shooting Guard), Estefania Coronado (Alera), Margaret Padilla (Alera), Ariane Cabero (Power Forward) and Maria Fernanda Viveros (Point Guard).
The technical team is made up of: Podskoc (coach), Jorge Lovera (assistant coach), Carla Ramírez (doctor) and Silvana Tejeda (delegation candidate).
“There is great courage on the part of the Federation (Bolivian Basketball) and this team to go to a tournament after 18 years and participate in such an important South American tournament,” said Podskoc.
“We have very young, well-prepared players. There were 15, 20 days of very hard work in the last micro cycle, But the games have to be played. Bolivia has an identity, it will replace altitude with speed and we hope that we do well, because we have to look for the future of this generational change,” he added.
He stressed that the average age of the Verde is 19 years old and that “The expectation is always dignity, The result is the result of work and dignity is what Bolivia is seeking in South America, what we have been doing in the last year, that is the priority.”
Bolivia is in Group A with Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina. “It is the group of death, so to speak. They are players from Europe, who are at a high level, we will go to a high-level tournament. The championship will determine where we need to be and everything we need to continue achieving our goals,” said the Argentine coach.
La Verde will debut on Sunday against Chile (20:00 in Bolivia), on Monday they will face Brazil (17:30), on Tuesday they will face Argentina (17:30) and on Wednesday they will face Uruguay (17:30).
In B there are: Venezuela, Paraguay, Ecuador and Colombia. Peru will not be part of the competition.
The competition modality will be all against all, of which the two best will advance to the semi-finals to face off against each other as first and second place teams.
“Those who finish third and fourth in each group will continue to play for positions five to eight. The team that finishes in fifth place in Group A will withdraw from the competition after the Group Phase is concluded. The goal is to secure one of the three spots at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup, which will also be held in Chile,” says the FIBA America press release.
All matches will be played at the Collective Sports Center of Santiago de Chile.
