Venezuela Aims to Correct Mistakes and Improve Performance Ahead of FIBA World Cup Debut
Caracas. Alarmed after a string of eight straight losses, including seven in the warm-ups of their recent preparation tour, Venezuela is looking to correct mistakes and improve its performance ahead of Saturday’s debut against Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup.
Venezuela, part of Group F, will also face Cape Verde two days later and Georgia on August 30 in the Japanese city of Okinawa. The World Cup, featuring 32 teams, will also have the Philippines and Indonesia as venues.
La Vinotinto, participating in its fifth World Cup in history and achieving its second consecutive qualification for the first time, is currently experiencing one of its worst moments.
“This is a very difficult process, perhaps people don’t understand it, we play with top-level teams,” said point guard Heissler Guillent, recently quoted by the Venezuelan Basketball Federation.
Venezuela managed to pass despite succumbing last February to Canada in the last game of the American qualifying round. They received help from the Dominican Republic by beating Argentina.
The Venezuelans left out Argentina, the runner-up in the 2019 World Cup, thanks to their victory with a difference of 45 points (115-70) in the previous match against the Bahamas. That was their last win.
In addition to the official match with Canada, Venezuela has accumulated 10 losses in its last 11 matches, including the eight friendly matches scheduled to prepare for the World Cup: they lost to Angola (66-61), Argentina (65-66), Spain (87-57), France (86-67), Australia (97-41), South Sudan (80-61), and Brazil (83-71).
Despite the accumulation of setbacks and the low percentage of effectiveness in shots under the rim, medium and long distance, the members of the Venezuelan team are optimistic. They see facing high-level teams such as Spain, the last World Cup champion, and France, the third, in the warm-up matches as a positive experience.
“The important thing is that the team is getting together, we seek to correct things, continue to improve,” Guillent said. “We hope to reach the World Cup with the best possible rhythm and jump onto the field with all the desire to win the official matches,” he added.
The Argentine Fernando Duró, who also led Vinotinto in the 2019 World Cup in China, was confident that their preparations would ultimately bear fruit. The team had a preparatory phase of “maximum tactical, technical, and physical demands.”
The objective of the warm-up matches was to make adjustments and “look for the best form on August 26 for the first game with Slovenia,” added the strategist, who has experienced players alongside a young generation called to lead the team’s replacement.