Paraguay are locals Again for the first time since 1987

ASUNCION - (FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers 2019) — The Paraguayan National Team will face their next two games of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers 2019 as locals, after a 31-year absence from Asunción. This is something very significant since, for the first time in history since 1987, the National Team will be able to play at home, and in front of their fans, family, and friends.

 

With a record of 4 losses, that positions them last in Group A, the Paraguayan team will not give up and will try to find those important points for a possible qualification for the next phase. They will play at their venue against Uruguay next Thursday, and against Panama next Sunday at the León Condou Stadium of the San José School, where the finals of the Paraguayan Basketball League are now underway, and what team Deportivo San José calls home. It’s a stadium that has been renovated for these two matches where the National Team are looking to achieve their first victory on the road to the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

 

Their directives are trying to fill the stadium for these two games. For this reason, the ticket price is 50,000 Paraguayan Guaraníes —the equivalent of 9 US dollars—, so that nobody misses the opportunity to see their National Team in this historic moment for Paraguayan basketball.

 

The forward and current captain of the National Team, Bruno Zanotti, feels that this is a very special instance: “Since 1987 we haven’t played as locals. I was born in 1982 and I am the veteran player of the National Team. All the players that are part of this National Team never had the beautiful opportunity to play in front of our fans and our country.  It’s a great source of pride for us to do it again after so much time. To be able to represent your country and defend your colors in front of your fans, family, and friends is incredible. It’ll be amazing to play as locals with them cheering us on.”

 

Zanotti was born in the city of Durban, South Africa, and then lived until his teenage years in Asunción, which is why he’s feeling this moment as something transcendental: “I’ve lived all of my life in Asunción. I was born outside this country because my father was working overseas, but of all my family members I was the only one born outside. I lived in Asunción until I was 18-years-old and then I had to go study and play in the United States. For me it’s truly special to not only play in Paraguay, but in the capital, Asunción. Not only is it important to defend the colors of your country in front of your public and fans, but it’s also motivating for them since it helps them to keep on going forward and now, for the first time, we have the opportunity to enjoy this moment and the team feels it and we are very happy.”

 

“Asunción is a city with a lot of basketball history. We hope to fill the stadium, because we finally have the conditions to be able to host a tournament of this magnitude,” expressed the forward that plays for San José in the Paraguayan Basketball League in the stadium were the National Team will have the next two matches of the qualifiers. He added: “Also, there’s a first-class stadium being finished for the end of August and if Paraguay continues in this tournament, we hope to count on having a new stadium adjusted to the standards of FIBA to be able to play locally.”

 

 Also, he referred to the situation of playing on the local league while at the same time facing a qualifying game in the World Cup: “It is amusing to see your teammates after playing against them the night before. This is something new that we must face with professionalism and to be able to separate the situation of representing your country and the next day having them as rivals. It is an interesting challenge that helps the professionalism.”

 

The core players of the Paraguayan National Team are the same that participated in the South American Games hosted in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba. By beating the Argentine National Team, they won the first gold medal in Paraguayan basketball led by coach Christian Viveros, who is the current assistant of the head coach, Argentina-native Luis Oroño.

 

The 12 confirmed players by Oroño for these matches are: Diego Bareiro, Gabriel Peralta, Luís Ljubetic, Ramón Sánchez, Bruno Zanotti, Edgar Riveros, Federico Mellone, Alejandro Peralta, Guillermo Araújo, Adolfo López, Carlos Vallejos, and Diego Lesme.

 

Javier Martínez, second assistant coach of the Paraguay National Team also spoke about the meaning of playing in their nation’s capital: “I was skeptical about the idea, considering that we couldn’t manage the results that we were looking for in Panama; which were not even about winning, but about losing by a slim margin to have a better chance. I also thought that on a directive level that they would not bother to change like when it happened with Argentina, where we played the two games as visitors. Now you can see the movement through social media on how the stadium is being assembled, how it will have new rims and electronic scoreboards, the movement and buildup of the court because Paraguay doesn’t have portable hardwood surfaces. Really, it is very gratifying, and it makes me truly proud. We have the opportunity not only to prove ourselves but our entire national basketball prowess, because we haven’t had an official Senior Men’s National Team game at this level since 1987.”

 

“We are welcoming Uruguay first, but that doesn’t mean that Deportivo San José goes to a second place. The fact that we don’t have to travel to play those games, apart from the fact that we are almost t eliminated, is very important and it brings you closer to the chance to dream and see if the results are satisfactory in the first week of the qualifiers and if we have the chance to qualify for the second phase.”

 

Meanwhile, Zanotti added: “We are playing desperately because of the 0-4, and we hope that works now that we’re playing at home. Another advantage is that the local tournament continues and all of us are active and have the rhythm and that could work in your favor. We are the only ones that have the tournament this time of the year, maybe that will work in our favor.”

 

 About what is coming from Uruguay and Panama, he expressed: “We have two strong teams ahead. Uruguay, who we already had as visitors and we know that bring a very physical game. They are bringing four point guards and are betting on their velocity. It’s a very organized team and they have shown a lot resilience in their game. They’re structured and that makes them efficient. It’ll be physical under the rim and we need to counteract that with our speed. It will be a very different game against Panama. It must be more athletic and not as organized as our South American game —as the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, or us. They step out fast with a counterattack, they look for easy points, and we need to plan it out differently with a strong defense that is a little bit out of our character and our Guaraní drive.”

 

“I like this new format a lot. For teams with a small roster it’s beneficial. It’s fairer and it helps the players be able to recuperate between Qualifiers and the games themselves. It’s best for the players health because it prevents injuries. It’ll benefit Paraguay in the future —and its management too—, to try to continue on with a National Team with some changes that can come later,” expressed the naturalized Italian.

 

FIBA