BUENOS AIRES (FIBA Americas Championship for Women/FIBA World Championship for Women) - Argentina have taken strides in women’s basketball the past decade.
The national team hasn’t joined the elite in the international game, yet the results do not lie.
The Argentinians have captured silver medals at the last two FIBA Americas Championships.
They have played at every FIBA World Championship for Women since 1998 and have also taken part in the 2008 and 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for Women (OQTW).
Argentina are number 12 in the FIBA Rankings Women.
Though last summer ended in disappointment, with Argentina beating New Zealand at the OQTW in Ankara but then losing to the Czech Republic, Turkey and Canada, the mood in Buenos Aires is upbeat.
A new era gets underway on 13 February, when recently appointed coach Cristian Santander and his assistants Sebastian Silva and Hernan Amaya gather with a 20-strong squad for a week-long training camp.
Those invited are Melisa Gretter, Sandra Pavon, Nadia Flores, Rocio Rojas, Macarena Durso (all point guards), Natasha Perez, Macarena Rosset, Natalia Teodori, Rocio Diaz (all shooting guards), Andrea Boquete, Melisa Pavicich, Paula Budini, Natasha Spiatta (small forwards), Agostina Burani, Carolina Sanchez, Ornella Santana, Diana Cabrera (all power forwards/centers), and Celia Fiorotto, Florencia Fernandez, Melani Soriani, Paula Ramos and Gimena Landra (all centers).
Argentina will in September play at the FIBA Americas Championship for Women. The event will serve as a qualifying tournament for the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey.
