MEXICO CITY (Mexico) – Familiar names appear up and down the Mexican preliminary roster that dreams of winning the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico next month and qualifying to Paris 2024.
Head coach Omar Quintero announced a 20-man roster that includes 9 players who represented Mexico at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, including legends like Paul Stoll, Gabriel Giron Jr. and Francisco “Pako” Cruz and long-time stalwarts Israel Gutierrez and Fabian Jaimes.
Other frequent contributors include Gael Bonilla, Moisés Andriazzi, Irwin Ávalos and Joshua Ibarra.
The list also features several promising young players, headlined by 17-year-old Karim López, currently playing for Joventut Badalona in Spain.
Long Beach State guard Isael Silva and 17-year-old rising phenom Adrien Porras are other fresh names to keep an eye on.
Clocking in at No. 25 in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike, Mexico is coming off a disappointing 25thplace finish at last year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup in Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. There, they finished with a 2-3 record.
The goal is to bring Mexican asketball back to the Olympics after a 48-year-absence. The last time they qualified was at the 1976 Montreal Games.
They’ll compete in Group A this time around with Lithuania and Côte d’Ivoire
The full list:
Paul Stoll, Isael Silva, Gael Bonilla, Joshua Ibarra, Karim Rodríguez, Pako Cruz, Esteban Roacho, Iván Montano, Gicarri Harris, Fabián Jaimes, Israel Gutiérrez, Víctor Valdes, Gabriel Girón Jr., Alejandro Villanueva, Moisés Andriazzi, Karim López, Irwin Ávalos, Adrien Porras, Jorge Camacho, Juan Camargo.
FIBA