Emerging talent Lindo in Panama's FIBA AmeriCup squad
PANAMA CITY (FIBA AmeriCup 2017) - Panama have included four promising youngsters in their 18-man squad ahead of the FIBA AmeriCup in Montevideo, Uruguay.
PANAMA CITY (FIBA AmeriCup 2017) - Panama have included four promising youngsters in their 18-man squad ahead of the FIBA AmeriCup in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Each, including star forward Ricardo Lindo, featured in the Panamanian side that just finished third at the 2017 Centrobasket U17 Championship for Men in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic.
A 2.0m (6ft 7in) scoring machine, Lindo averaged more than 22 points per game. He had an eye-popping 39 points and 19 rebounds in his country's 85-80 triumph over Mexico in the Third-Place Game.
Other members of that U17 team now in the senior squad are John Gunn, Roberto Armstrong and Jesus Lombardo.
| Panama squad ahead of FIBA AmeriCup 2017 | |||
| Roberto Armstrong | Josimar Ayarza | Tony Bishop | Javier Carter |
| Gary Forbes | John Gunn | Luis Henriquez | Daniel King |
| Jonathan King | Jamaal Levy | Ricardo Lindo | Jesus Lombardo |
| Eugenio Luzcando | Iverson Molinar | Jose Montenegro | Joel Munoz |
| Ernesto Oglivie | Pablo Rivas | ||
At a press conference announcing the squad, Panamanian Basketball Federation president Jair Peralta called the teenagers "the new blood of basketball" in the country.
Lindo (left) and Lombardo were stars in Santo Domingo
Among the veterans that will warm up for the AmeriCup under national team coach Manuel Reyes Hussain of Spain are Josimar Ayarza, Jamal Levy, Tony Bishop, Joel Munoz, Ernesto Oglivie, Daniel King, Jonathan King and Eugenio Luzcando.
Panama will battle in Group C against the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and the United States. They are going into the event, Peralta says, with one eye on the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers, which tip off in November.
Panama's FIBA AmeriCup campaign gets underway on August 28 with a game against the USA.
FIBA