FIBA Americas Expansion

[leonesponce]

Well as most of you should know by now, FIBA Europe expanded to 24 teams for the 2011 Eurobasket.

Im thinking, FIBA Americas should consider expanding its field in the Americas Championship to AT LEAST 12 teams... on a plan to have it at 16 teams in 10 years.. As well as having Canada play in the centrobasket tournament instead of direct qualification to the Americas Championship...

That said, as of now FIBA Americas current format is as follows:
4 teams from the Centrobasket Torunament qualify to FIBA Americas, Puerto Rico + 3 others (most of the time 3 out of the following; Mexico, Dominican Rep, Panama, Cuba or US Virgin Islands)
4 teams from South America (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela) + USA and Canada... a total of 10,,,

I think that for the sake of basketball development in the region they should think of an expansion and forcing Canada to win its place in the tourney...

Teams like Jamaica, Belize, Trinidad & Tobago, Colombia... are teams that have had good regional tournaments and should be given the opportunity to showcase against a higher level... What you guys think?

[JGX]

Tough call. One one hand, even in 10-team FIBA-Americas there are teams that regularly qualify but never contend to advance to the Olympics or WC (Uruguay, Mexico, USVI...). So additional teams probably wouldn't make an impact either. OTOH it's always the same four South American teams and the four Centrobasket teams are always selected from the same group of five/six teams. So expanding the tournament would give some new teams a chance.

[Lewis]

FIBA ASIA's championships have like 70 teams and there's really only one team worth watching.

[usausa]

I mean, I like the thought of expansion but the results are so stagnant at this point, I think for the moment, we should stay where we're at. My only change ould be to put Canada in Centrobasket to make a Centro/North America qualifier to the FIBA Americas.

[alermac]

I think FIBA Americas can easily expand to 12 teams, keeping the current format and creating two 6-team groups. The latest two South American tournaments showed that Colombia (ahead of Chile and Paraguay) is very close to Venezuela and Uruguay, and Central America always has to leave one or two decent teams out (usually Panama, the Dominican or the USVI). So I'd add a fifth team from both South and Central America.

[leonesponce]

Yes.. First thing is to do a North/Central american (quite similar to the Norceca region in volleyball) tournament and force Canada into it... 10 teams (up from the current 8 team centrobasket)...

And then add 2 teams to FIBA Americas... 1 each from Centrobasket (plus an additional spot due to the addition of Canada) and South America... That would qualify 6 from Centrobasket and 5 from South America + USA... (Ithink the 6th best team in centrobasket can beat the 5th from South America)

Argentina
Brazil
Uruguay
Venezuela
Colombia

Puerto Rico
Dominican Rep
Panama
Cuba
Canada
Mexico

USA

I think for the moment that would lead to more interest in basketball in the region... and that means future growth...

[leonesponce]

As for the format.. well is super easy... 2 groups of 6 teams... round robin... 1-4 advance and play the four temas from the other group... then 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 overall in the semis... quite similar to what they do now... just add that 1 game from group play...

[leonesponce]

Now that USA won gold in turkey... I think they will not play in FIBA Americas... that leaves one spot open... who you guys think deserves that spot?

Jamaica - just missed qualification, 5th in centrobasket
Mexcio - 6th in Centrobasket
Colombia - 5th in South America...


I think they should coin toss between Jamaica and Colombia...

Who's the better team? for me Jamaica...

[Lewis]

Now that USA won gold in turkey... I think they will not play in FIBA Americas... that leaves one spot open... who you guys think deserves that spot?

Jamaica - just missed qualification, 5th in centrobasket
Mexcio - 6th in Centrobasket
Colombia - 5th in South America...


I think they should coin toss between Jamaica and Colombia...

Who's the better team? for me Jamaica...

Mexico because they were the silver medalists at the Caribbean Games

[alermac]

Now that USA won gold in turkey... I think they will not play in FIBA Americas... that leaves one spot open... who you guys think deserves that spot?

Jamaica - just missed qualification, 5th in centrobasket
Mexcio - 6th in Centrobasket
Colombia - 5th in South America...


I think they should coin toss between Jamaica and Colombia...

Who's the better team? for me Jamaica...

There should be a mini tournament between Mexico, Jamaica, Colombia and Paraguay or Chile. Anyway, the best ones there could be Colombia (rising lately) and Mexico

[Mojado]

Although I would love to see Mexico another time in the FIBA Americas, I would let Jamaica and Colombia play a round-robin due to their effort to raise the level of attention towards the sport.
Mexico promised to make a complete change and to let the younger generation play in Centrobasket only to send some veterans who passed their prime to Santo Domingo
If the Dominicans would have kept their promise to provide a regular gym, then Roy Hibbert would never had to leave due to knee problems and we would have had a different outcome there with Jamaica maybe reaching the last four.

[JGX]

If the Dominicans would have kept their promise to provide a regular gym, then Roy Hibbert would never had to leave due to knee problems and we would have had a different outcome there with Jamaica maybe reaching the last four.

In fairness to the Dominicans, other countries followed their trend, with Spain hosting their big friendly tournament at "La Sauna Mágica" and those crazy slippery advertising labels in Turkey.

I would prefer to see the US participate with a team of players having funny names, but if they don't I'd like to see them replaced by the Jamaicans since they'd be a new team and have the potential to assemble a much stronger team than they had for Centrobasket.

What happens if both the US and those wacky Cubans don't participate?

[Lewis]

In fairness to the Dominicans, other countries followed their trend, with Spain hosting their big friendly tournament at "La Sauna Mágica" and those crazy slippery advertising labels in Turkey.

I would prefer to see the US participate with a team of players having funny names, but if they don't I'd like to see them replaced by the Jamaicans since they'd be a new team and have the potential to assemble a much stronger team than they had for Centrobasket.

What happens if both the US and those wacky Cubans don't participate?

as much as I'd love to see Jamaica, with its full team that is, in a Major international competition, the reality is that FIBA would probably just pick a team from the Hosting nation region just like last year, or at least that was the excuse the gave to still leave Mexico in the competition after taking away the hosting rights from them.

that said, I see a lot of you supporting Colombia as the replacement nation at the Fiba Americas, but they finished 6th at the FIBA South American Championship behind Paraguay, Whereas Paraguay not only finished ahead of them but also beat them pretty convincingly in the 5th place math.

btw: JGX, "Saunga" is masculine

[JGX]

btw: JGX, "Saunga" is masculine

Blame the Spanish.

[leonesponce]

The best the should do is to do a "mini" tournament between 5-6 from both centrobasket and southamerican championship... Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay and Colombia... but they (FIBA Americas) will not do it...

Cuba will go because the tourney will be staged in Argentina, not in USA nor Puerto Rico... So probably they'll only replace USA (if they decide not to go)