The U17 men’s national team makes its debut this Saturday at the World Cup in Turkey. Felipe Minzer’s words in the preview.
The wait is over. This Saturday from 1:30 p.m., the Argentine U17 men’s team debuts in the World Cup in Turkey, the most important international competition of the year. It will be against Italy and can be seen live on DirecTV Sports and on the FIBA channel on YouTube. The tournament marks the culmination of a three-year process of work and official competitions that began with the silver medal in the 2022 South American U15 and continued with fourth place in the FIBA Americas U16 last year.
The national team arrives at this match after two weeks of intense preparation in the luxurious facilities of Pallacanestro Varese in Italy, where they held their pre-match training camp and played a series of friendlies: “The sensations beforehand are very good. The team is united, everyone trusts the one next to them. That is something very positive that will play in our favour. We are not afraid of anyone, we are a very strong team and we can surprise,” explained Felipe Minzer, one of the players with the most experience in international competitions.
Argentina shares a group with the host country, Turkey, New Zealand and their opening rival, Italy: “We are in great shape for our debut, very eager for it to get started. We had a very good preparation and we are good as a team. Italy is going to be a very tough rival, one of the best in Europe. It is a good opportunity to show what we are about,” added the shooting guard who plays for Casademont Zaragoza in Spain.
The team has an average height of 1.99m, with only four players under two meters. Six of the selected players play abroad and nine of the twelve who qualified in the FIBA Americas U16 last year are repeating. “We are a very tough team, which perhaps does not have the height or physique of other teams, but we have character and the Argentine DNA that makes us defend hard, be supportive and trust our teammates,” said Minzer.
ARGENTINE U17 MEN’S TEAM – U17 WORLD CUP
1 – Tyler Kropp | 2,04 | 2007 | Olentangy Liberty High School (EEUU)
4 – Tomás Scola Rochetti | 1.99 | 2007 | Varese Basketball (ITA)
5 – Santiago Cabodevilla | 2,00 | 2007 | Basket Corato (ITA)
6- Joaquín Sarmiento Battistoni | 2.00 | 2007 | Assigeco Basketball Academy (ITA)
7 – Martín Chapero | 2.04 | 2007 | Peñarol of Mar del Plata
8 – Matías Dominé | 1.90 | 2007 | Quilmes of Mar del Plata
9 – Martin Torriani | 1.91 | 2007 | Boca Juniors
10 – Juan Pablo Arias | 1.78 | 2007 | Argentine from Junín
11 – Felipe Minzer | 2.01 | 2007 | Casademont Zaragoza (ESP)
14 – Fidel Cifuentes Rotta | 2.07 | 2007 | Boca Juniors
15 – Iván Prato | 2.10 | 2007 | Varese Basketball (ITA)
21 – Simon Gradin | 2.04 | 2008 | Water Works
STAFF
– Coach: Leonardo Gutierrez
– Assistant: Juan Pablo Fernandez
– Assistant. Mariano Marcos
– Physical Trainer: Matías Suhurt
– Props manager: Silvio Campagnuolo
– Kinesiologist: Cristian Airala
– Doctor: Carlos Nigito
– Team Leader: Hernán Tettamanti
TIMELINE
Saturday 29/06
13.30hs – Argentina vs Italia
Domingo 30/06
1:30 p.m. – New Zealand vs Argentina
Tuesday 02/07
14.00hs – Argentina vs Türkiye
Wednesday 03/07
Round of 16
2024-06-30 04:00:10
#Minzer #strong #team #surprise
