BUENOS AIRES (FIBA Americas Championship/FIBA World Championship for Women) - When it comes to putting a good team on the floor in international basketball, a coach wants as much competition for places in the squad as possible.
As new Argentina boss Cristian Santander looks ahead to this summer, when the national side will hope to qualify for the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey, he'll be thinking the same thing.
The captain and long-time player in the Argentina side, 37-year-old Carolina Sanchez, certainly believes the returning veterans taking part in workouts can take nothing for granted.
Santander has been looking at a lot of youngsters in the national team training sessions so far, wondering if there may be a budding star or two that can help the side.
"Regarding the process of Cristian and the new coaching staff that is integrating the national team, from my point of view this has been very good," Sanchez said.
"I think the team needed fresh air and above all ... everyone feels that no one has a secure place in the national team in each workout.”
Sanchez says the previous coaching staffs have done an excellent job, but she also admits the current regime is making sure the players know the meaning of hard work.
"The intensity and emphasis that they put on everything, despite how hard the work has been and how tired we are," Sanchez said, "the fruits of all the efforts we will see at the end of each tournament."
Someone who has been unable to help out the past several years but is now in the squad is 27-year-old Florence Palacios.
"The call came at the best time of my career and while I'm in my best physical state," Palacios said.
