Uruguay continues on its way to the 2023 Basketball World Cup, which will be held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. Blue Sky started the playoffs with two wins over Colombia at the window, which was held in Buenos Aires; Because of the pandemic, all matches have been played at the Obras Sanitarios stadium.

With this in mind, FIBA ​​Americas has decided to return to the home/outside home system. The match proposes to hold meetings with Brazil and Chile abroad, and the matches will be held in June in our country to close the first stage. The big three in the group advance to the next round, where they will face Group D qualifiers (the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba). Although it is unlikely that Uruguay will qualify for the final stage, the victories obtained are carried over, so winning at least one in this window is key to aspirations of reaching the 2023 World Cup.

Tomorrow at 7:10 pm, the team led by Rubén Magnano will face Brazil in the Pedrocao de Franca Arena. Later, on Monday the 28th, they will play Chile at 10:10pm at the Antonio Arsmendi Coliseum in Valdivia.

competitors

Brazil and Chile met in Buenos Aires for their first two group dates. The Brazilians won 77-53 and 81-55 to lead the region alongside Uruguay.

Without a doubt, those led by Gustavo Conte – who just won the Intercontinental Cup with Flamengo at club level – are the great favorites to finish first and remain undefeated. On this double date, the return of Leo Mindel (Fuenlabrada, Spain) and trainee Augusto Lima (Murcia, Spain), who have joined Vitor Bennett (Burgos, Spain) and former NBA player Bruno Capoclo (San Pablo) as the main characters.

It’s a very tall team, with top strikers who will have a hard time defending and with players who, in addition to being of good size and leading in the paint, have good success rates, 6.75, and generate a lot of play.

Chile is going through a phase that combines turnover and growth. Although they had improved a lot, they were still not at the level of continental powers. However, hitting him is not a formality as in the past. It’s an intense team, putting a lot of pressure on the ball defensively.

The base of the Estudiantes de Madrid, Ignacio Arroyo, is one of its main characters. In addition to driving, he has the advantage of stealing many balls in his defense. The aspirations of Chileans depend a lot on their performance. There will also be Sebastian Herrera, of Germany Ewe Baskets, an interesting striker who has been at coaching level the captain in several of the red team’s “surprise” victories against the light blue team. Manuel Suarez, a very exciting pivot, will miss with a goal and a good percentage of free kicks who plays for Hungary’s Nyregyhaza Blue Sharks.

We are not all

Uruguay will not have their full potential for these two matches. Santiago Vescovi and Jason Granger are not authorized to travel by their clubs, because the NCAA and Euroleague do not depend on the International Basketball Federation and are not obligated to loan their players for the playoffs.

Added to the long absences list is Bruno Fittipaldo (due to a back injury), Matas Calvani (due to a rupture) and Emiliano Ceres (due to a fracture). Kirill Wassman has tested positive for the Covid virus and will not be against Brazil, but if he recovers he will travel directly to Chile for the second match.

The good news was the nationalization of Diego Pena Garcia, who since February 19 has been allowed to play for Uruguay. The striker defending Begua is an Argentine but his mum is Uruguayan, he completed all the appropriate procedures and eventually joined the list.