Are you looking to watch Lebanon vs. Canada or Russia vs Puerto Rico in the first day of World Championships’ group play?

Follow all the pool play matches in Interbasket’s World Championships of Basketball forum where we’ve created game-specific threads so you can follow your favorite national teams,

find out where to watch the game online, comment, and cheer along with Puerto Ricans, Angolans, Lebanese and other diehard basketball fans from abroad.  Check out the individual game threads below:

* Looking for Greece-China and the earlier matches – go here: Watch Greece-China Live in World Championships

Guillermo Jose Diaz is a 6-2 guard from Puerto Rico known for his amazing leaping ability so much so that his nickname is “Superman”.

(Discuss Puerto Rican basketball in our forum)

Diaz’s talent was noticed early when he played high school basketball at the Miami Christian School, Miami alongside future NBA’er and Puerto Rican star J.J. Barea, before moving on to Miami University.

His three years at Miami University added more to both his game and his name where he became known as a player with more than just a great vertical leap, but a player with style and technique.

In 2003-04 he led Miami in scoring and and captured All-ACC honors during both his sophomore and junior years. With 1,477 points he bagged the 10th spot on the University’s all-time scoring chart after just three years.

After his junior year, Diaz turned pro by making himself available for the 2006 NBA Draft.

He joined the Los Angeles Clippers following the 2006 NBA Draft when he was selected 52nd overall making him the fifth Puerto Rican ever drafted and the eighth to play in the NBA.

Diaz would not make an NBA roster and he would move onto the Check Republic to play professionally for 2006-07. Playing for the club ČEZ Basketball Nymburk, Diaz left midseason as he wasn’t able to adapt to the different culture and lifestyle.

A shame that he couldn’t deal with off-court life, as Diaz was excelling on the court; Diaz was the second leading scorer (20.1ppg) in the Czech league and led his team to a 15-1 record before departing.

He moved on to AEP Olimpiada Patron of the Greek League in 2007, tallying 13.0 points per game in five games.

At the end of October 2007, he signed a contract with Anaheim Arsenal of the National Basketball Development League (NBDL). By January 2008 Diaz, the 6-2 guard had an average of 16.6 points per game in 14 games for the Arsenal.

Diaz entered into a 10-day contract with the Clippers in January 2008. Diaz showed enough promise that his contract was extended to another 10 days.

His short-term NBA deals came to a close by the end of January 2008, after which a guaranteed contract was not offered to him. Diaz played a total of just six NBA games scoring 5 points, with 2 rebounds and 1 assist.

Currently, Diaz plays for Pepsi Caserta of the Italian Lega 2. Talent and energy is what characterises Guillermo Diaz; all he is waiting for is a proper chance.

It’s been a busy week for FIBA as they announced the four wild cards on Saturday, and determined the top four seeds for the World Championships of Basketball on Sunday.

Now the federation that overseas international basketball has announced the draw results that will determine the groupings for the 2010 world basketball event in Istanbul, Turkey.

The 24 participating nations were drawn into four groups of six teams each:

• Group A: Serbia, Argentina, Australia, Jordan, Germany, Angola
• Group B: Croatia, Brazil, Tunisia, Slovenia, Iran, USA
• Group C: China, Turkey, Russia, Puerto Rico, Ivory Coast, Greece
• Group D: Lithuania, Lebanon, France, Spain, Canada, New Zealand

(Discuss the draw results in our forum)

The draw was held at the the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul, on 15th December 15th, 2009 at 11:30AM local time.

The draw was conducted jointly by FIBA and the LOC in the presence of participating nations’ representatives, “National Federation members, prominent public figures and members of the international media.”

The FIBA World Championships are held every four years and determines the world’s top country in basketball.

As a passionate fan of Puerto Rican basketball, one must have heard about Carlos Arroyo.

(Discuss Carlos Arroyo and Puerto Rico Hoops)

Arroyo is a talented NBA player that started out undrafted player and eventually worked his way onto the Utah Jazz roster after spending a couple seasons as a third string guard behind Hall-Of-Famer John Stockton.

Once Stockton retired from the NBA, Arroyo was able to display his skills, thus carving out a career for himself in the NBA along with the Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic.

At Florida International University, Carlos was renowned as a four-year letterman. Arroyo was the second player in the history of the school, to have scored 1,600 points.

He averaged 16.0 points and 4.6 assists and in the record of 100 career games for FIU. His 459 assists are an FIU record. He also ranks second with three-point FGs (174), second all-time with 177 steals, third with 562 FGs and third in total free throws with 302.

Arroyo put Puerto Rico on the Basketball Map
The leader and most recognizable member of the Puerto Rican national team. Carlos Arroyo helped his team finish the seventh game during the World Championship of 2002 in Indianapolis. His average was 11.6 points, 6.4 assists in 27.9 minutes and in eight games for Puerto Rico.

In 2004, Arroyo once again represented Puerto Rico, this time famously helping his country in defeating the United States 92-73 at the 2004 Olympic Basketball Tournament. He scored a team-high 24 points and led the team in scoring during that competition with 18 points per game.

Carlos has also played in the Euroleague between stints in the NBA. First with TAU Cerámica in Spain during the 2001-02 season before moving on to the Utah Jazz for the next two years, and then last season when he joined Maccabi Tel Aviv for the 2008-09 season.

Currently, the 30-year old point guard is playing a reserve role with the Miami Heat.

Discuss more of Carlos Arroyo and Puerto Rico basketball in our forum.

Former NBA player Bonzi Wells has resurfaced; signing with the Capitanes de Arecibo of the BSN (Baloncesto Superior Nacional), the Puerto Rican Basketball League.

(Talk about Bonzi’s move to Puerto Rico)

Wells signed with the Capitanes in early November, and joined former NBA player Marcus Fizer and Puerto Rican star guard Larry Ayuso on the Arecibo, Puerto Rico-based team.

Wells last played in China, after signing with Shanxi Zhongyu, a club in the Chinese Basketball Association, last year. The 6-6 Wells lasted 14 games in the league before infamously going AWOL after the team took a break for Chinese New Year. Wells wouldn’t return to Shanxi, and the club terminated his contract.

Wells played for five different NBA teams (Portland, Memphis, Sacramento, Houston, New Orleans) over his 10-year career and averaged 12.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.2 steals.

San Juan, PR – Brazil barely squeaked by Puerto Rico 61-60 to capture te gold medal in the 2009 FIBA Americas Championships.

(Discuss the game)

Brazil steadily built up a 13-point lead going into the fourth quarter before the hosts tightened up their defense to gradually pick away at Brazil’s margin.

Puerto Rico’s AD Vasallo led the charge in the final quarter, the 6-6 shooting guard scored all of his nine points in the fourth quarter but missed the second of two free-throws with 33 seconds remaining that could have tied the game at 61.

Leandro Barbosa led Brazil with 24 points, but did most of his damage was in the first three as he was held to just three points in the crucial fourth quarter. Tiago Splitter added 13 points with 9 rebounds for the Brazilian squad.

Carlos Arroyo top-scored for Puerto Rico with 14 points, but missed a three at the end of the game that would have won it for the hosts.

Both teams shot under 40% for the game. Brazil’s was 9-1 in the tournament, their only loss coming at Puerto Rico’s hands in the final day of the quarterfinals – they also won the 2005 tournament.  Puerto Rico finished the tournament with a 8-2 record.

Argentina takes Bronze; Scola wins MVP
Argentina finished the Americas tournament with a bronze medal, defeating Canada 88-73 in the third place game. Argentina used a dominant first quarter to break the Canadians, outscoring them 31-8 in the initial period.  Paolo Quinteros scored all of his 13 points in that first quarter.

Houston Rocket’s forward Luis Scola again led his team with 27 points.  Euroleague playmaker Pablo Prigioni scored 17 and added 8 assists.

For Canada, Jermaine Anderson scored 19 points and had 11 assists; Levon Kendall and Aaron Doornekamp added 12 points and 11 points respectively.

Scola was named MVP of the tournament after the Houston Rockets forward averaged a tournament high 23.3 points per game and was the unquestioned leader of the Argentinians. Carlos Arroyo and Tiago Splitter also were considered in the voting.

The top-two seeded teams will battle for FIBA Americas gold tomorrow.

Brazil and Puerto Rico each won their semi-finals game today and will meet up for the second time in three days.

Puerto Rico handed Brazil their first loss on Friday night 74-70, and though both teams had a 7-1 record, Brazil ended up with the number one seed due to their goal average against Argentina and Canada.

(Click here to discuss the FIBA Americas final between Brazil and Puerto Rico in our forum)

In today’s semi-finals, Puerto Rico halted Argentina’s run of six straight wins with an 85-80 victory while Brazil used a great third quarter to handle Canada 73-65.

Carlos Arroyo continued his resurgent play for Puerto Rico with 19 points. Luis Scola scored 31 points for the Argentina side.

Brazil got 22 points from Leandro Barbosa, and Joel Anthony pulled in 17 points and 8 rebounds for the Canadians.

Both Brazil and Puerto Rico have eight wins and one loss going into tomorrow’s final game.  Canada and Argentina will play for the bronze medal. More importantly, all four teams have qualified for the World Championships next year.

In a battle of two heavyweights on the last day of the FIBA Americas quarterfinals, Puerto Rico blew a 19 point lead in the fourth quarter, still ended up winning the battle, but losing the quarterfinals war to Brazil.

Despite giving Brazil their first loss of the tournament, and having the same record, Puerto Rico still ended up second because Brazil’s goal average against Argentina and Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Ricans needed to win the match by six points to finish in first place, instead they won by four 86-82.

By giving up a 73-54 lead with 7 1/2 minutes remaining, and only winning by four points, Puerto Rico must now face the red-hot Argentinians, who have won six games in a row while Brazil will play Canada.

Angel Daniel (AD) Vassallo finished with 20 points on a perfect 8-8 from the field (5-5 2pt, 3-3 3pt, 1-1 ft) in only 19 minutes of play. Larry Ayuso top-scored with 25 points  and Carlos Arroyo finished with 16 points and 6 assists.

Anderson Varejao led Brazil with 22 points including an all-important three-pointer with 12 seconds left that created the  final margin in favor of Brazil. Tiago Splitter added 19 points and Marcelo Machado had 15.

The FIBA Americas semifinals begin Saturday, August 5.

Three of the four Americas teams have punched their tickets to the 2010 World Championships to be held next year in Turkey.

At an undefeated 7-0, Brazil has already earned a spot in the World Championships by dominating their competition, and are now looking for gold with a stacked

Argentina and Puerto Rico are the two other teams that have also qualified.

After starting the tournament with two losses,  Argentina (5-2) has now won five straight games, handing the Puerto Ricans (6-1) their first loss, 80-78, of the tournament yesterday.

Must Win Situations
The fourth and final spot will be determined today in the last day of the quarterfinals between three teams: Dominican Republic, Canada, and Uruguay.

If the Dominican Republic (4-3) can record their fifth win of the tournament by defeating Canada today, the race is over and the Dominicans will move on based on overall record.

But if Canada (3-4) can pull out a win against the Dominicans, and Uruguay loses, the North American country will qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.  This all-important game between DR and Canada is set for 6:30 local time (Puerto Rico).

The third scenario involves Uruguay (3-4) forcing a three way tie between the teams.

If Uruguay can win their last game over red hot Argentina, who may rest their key players against their neighbors to the east. Uruguay can clinch a spot with a win coupled with a Canadian win over the Dominicans.

Tropical Storm Erika has forced the the organizers of the FIBA Americas Championships to schedule games earlier than what was set.

(Follow the schedule change in our forum)

Despite the weakened status of the storm, games of the eighth day of the FIBA Americas tournament have been moved to be played earlier in the day than scheduled.

A tropical storm warning was issued for Puerto Rico, where the tournament is being hosted in San Juan, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands.

Canada is set to play Panama in the first game, which has already begun, more than two hours ahead of schedule.

According to CNN: Erika’s winds were near 40 mph (65 kph) with higher gusts, forecasters said. If her winds drop below 39 mph, Erika will be categorized as a much-less dangerous tropical depression.

I scoured some images from the FIBA Americas Championship and pulled out my favorite twenty photos featuring Carlos Arroyo, Esteban Batista, Francisco Garcia, Anderson Varejao, Omar Quintero, Luis Scola, Guillermo Diaz, and more.

[Show as slideshow]

Photos are all courtesy of FIBA – Thanks FIBA!

Brazil and Puerto Rico maintained their perfect records, each winning their first game in the quarterfinals of the FIBA Americas Championship, for a unblemished 5-0 record.

Using a balanced lineup, Brazil has won their first four matches. They took first place in their tough preliminary group by downing the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Argentina, and Panama.  Brazil would go on to crush Mexico 92-61 in their first quarterfinal game.

Thus far, Brazil has won their five matches by an average margin of 18.6 points.  They play Canada today.

Led by a resurgent Carlos Arroyo, Puerto Rico has surprised, taking the Group A lead by winning all four of their qualification games and then winning their first quaterfinals match.

In their first five games, the hosts of the tournament have defeated their opponents by an average margin of 18.2 points.  Puerto Rico will take on the Dominican dream team today in day seven of the tournament.

If both Brazil and Puerto Rico can win their next two games, both Brazil and Puerto Rico will meet on the final day of the quarterfinals round with a perfect 8-0 record.

See the full FIBA Americas schedule at FIBA.com

Event: 2009 Americas Championships
Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Discuss: Americas Championships Thread
Info: The tournament will determine which four teams qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championships of Basketball.

The tournament will feature ten teams from Northern and Latin Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The favorites coming into the tournament is a solid Brazil team and the experienced Argentinians.

Brazil dominated the Tuto Marchand Cup with great efficiency with even contributions from Leandro Barbosa and Marcelo Machado in the backcourt, and Anderson Varejão and Tiago Splitter in the frontcourt.

Despite 2007 Americas MVP Luis Scola down low, Argentina didn’t fare as well in the Marchand Cup (0-3), but were without the services of Pablo Prigioni, who will join the team and run the point.

With Prigioni, Scola, as well as Federico Kammerichs and Leonardo Gutiérrez, team Argentina is still a power even without Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Carlos Delfino, and Fabricio Oberto.

The unproven Dominican Republic team have looked great in preparation games and is the dark horse of the tournament.  The team maybe the best team RD has ever assembled and features three current NBA players in Francisco García, Al Horford, and Charlie Villanueva.

The three top contenders for gold, Argentina, Brazil and the Dominican Republic, will all compete in a very difficult Group B.  The other two teams are Panama, who is no slouch either and Venezuela.

In Group A, look for Puerto Rico to give out a good fight, especially playing at home, with veteran mainstays Larry Ayuso, Carlos Arroyo, and Daniel Santiago.

Canada will compete with swingmen Carl English, Andy Rautins with NBA player Joel Anthony in the middle.  The other three teams are Uruguay, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Mexico without Eduardo Najera.

The United States will not send a team to the tournament after receiving an automatic bid to the World Championships by winning the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The United States won the 2007 Americas Championship held in Las Vegas by going undefeated in their ten games.  The USA was led by Carmelo Anthony’s 21.3 points and LeBron James‘ all-around game and blistering 76% from the field (73-96 FG). Argentina captured the silver medal, and Puerto Rico defeated Brazil for the bronze medal.

This year’s Championships will feature several other high profile players including Romel Beck (Mexico), Esteban Batista (Uruguay), Luis Flores (Dominican Republic), Levon Kendall (Canada), Héctor Romero (Venezuela), and Óscar Torres (Venezuela).

Eddie Ríos Mellado, Puerto Rican teacher and inventor of the three point line, passed away on Saturday, August 22nd, after spending three weeks in the hospital.

Ríos Mellado is credited as one of the inventors of the three-point line when he used the three-point arc in an official tournament played in 1962, eight years before it was used for the first time in the United States.

“I didn’t invent (the three-point line) for Russia or the United States,” Mellado told Primera Hoy, a Puerto Rican newspaper. “I came up with it for the children of my country and for myself to enjoy the game with them using that new rule.”

Puerto Rico‘s domestic league, the BSN, named an award after Mellado. A trophy is given to the player who makes the most three-pointers during the season.

Eddie Ríos Mellado was born in Naguabo, Puerto Rico.  He was 79 years of age. Mellado will be honored today at Puerto Rico’s Olympic Headquarters in old San Juan. (Discuss Eddie’s life in our forum)

Germany, both players are being held out of international competition this summer by their NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks (photo courtesy of FIBA)” src=”http://www.interbasket.net/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/barea-nowitzki-2008olympics.jpg” alt=”Puerto Rico’s J.J. Barea fights for the ball with Dirk Nowitzki of Germany, both players are being held out of international competition this summer by their NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks” width=”243″ height=”212″ />

The Dallas Mavericks invoked their right to prevent José Juan Barea from playing with Puerto Rico in the FIBA Americas tournament because the 5-10 guard has not fully recovered from his left shoulder injury.

“It’s the worst news I’ve been given.” said Barea, who had shoulder surgery on May 28. “I’m devastated. I wanted to play.”

The shoulder injury is the same one that kept Orlando guard Jameer Nelson off the court for four months.

The NBA’s agreement with FIBA says that NBA teams cannot prevent their players from playing in international competitions during the offseason as long as the players’ respective national federations can afford the required insurance.

The exception to that rule, which was used by the Mavs in the Barea situation, is when a player is injured or still recovering from an injury.

Barea averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 assists in 20.3 minutes per game for the Mavericks last season and was looking forward to playing in this year’s Tournament of Americas because it was being hosted in Puerto Rico.

Barea was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

“I have never failed to represent Puerto Rico since I was 16 years old.” Barea told El Nuevo Dia. “The news is so much more difficult because it wanted to play before my family, friends, and the fans of Puerto Rico.”

Last week, the Dallas franchise announced that Dirk Nowitzki would not participate in this year’s Eurobasket, on a strong recommendation of Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks.

“I’m not mad at (Cuban) at all,” Nowitzki told ESPN. “He’s been great to me these last 10, 11 years. He always let me chase my dream. And we always agreed that if I made the Olympics, it would be [time] to take a break.”