For the present and for the future – Guatemala's basketball development aims for more

GUATEMALA CITY (Guatemala) – Guatemalan basketball continues to expand with its motto “We aim for more”, implemented by the Guatemalan National Basketball Federation (FNBG) in a country that is geographically divided into 22 departments. Just like development is one of the main pillars of the Federation since 2017 the directives have been working to develop boys and girls through a National League of Formative Categories, that plays home and away games throughout the country and whose conclusion is coming soon after the Final Four.

The main goal of the FNBG is to have basketball de-centralized from the capital and that it reaches each one of Guatemala's regions. Seven cities in this Central American nation achieved qualification to the greatest basketball festival in Guatemala.

“The impact and importance of this National Formative League are essential for our Federation. We have put all our efforts in these processes for children and we believe that this competition is paramount to get to have a national team that is strengthened, and to be able to have significant participation in international tournaments,” said to FIBA.basketball FNBG president Estuardo Arriola, elected in September 2018.

“We want to see how we can support them with better athletic development. It's very important to prepare coaches and try to decentralize everything that happens in the capital. We must understand that what happens in the capital must also happen in the departments and that's how we can give the quality leap that we need,” assured the President.

The National League, that featured in its qualifying phase 22 teams divided into four groups, concluded this competition year with the National Final Four that took place in Guatemala City from September 19 to 21.

Each of the four qualified teams for both sexes went with hopes to grasp the title that names them U12 Champions in 2019.

The qualified teams were Guatemala City in both male and female squads; Huehuetenango, Zacapa, and Escuintla for the men; and Alta Verapaz, Chimaltenango and Sololá for the women’s teams.

“The U12 category is a category where we believe the life of an athlete begins and, although it's a competition, we've tried to take care of details in the rules so that the children who participate do so in a structured way that's also a lot of fun,” said to FIBA.basketball Dennys Ordóñez, FNBG Communications Director since 2013.

“We're certain that investing our strengths in making a competitive tournament for these categories, in a massive way, will result in a technical improvement that’ll be shown very soon by having a better basketball in our adult categories,” he added.

The National League made its debut in the Federation's calendar in 2017, and this is the third year in a row it takes place.

This time, it was held in the Teodoro Palacios Flores National Gymnasium, located in Zone 5 of the capital city, and welcomed the seven participating teams. This was also the first time that a U12 category final was broadcast on TV and radio.

With the participation of 2,112 athletes, with more than 114 coaches and 111 referees authorized in 2019 by the Federation to work in these competitive circuits, this is the third year in a row that Guatemala participates in this historic competition, where the U12, U14, U16 and U18 categories for both sexes and of the 22 cities of the country play more than 85 federative games per event in home and away games for four regional groups. The entire country is involved and participating.

“The technical level has improved in comparison to previous tournaments. We see teams with a better level, an increased height, and technical staff. Besides, in the Final Four each team is given a uniform for this event as a qualifying prize,” said to FIBA.basketball the FNBG’s Technical Manager, Omar Morales.

Regarding the Final Four, national team coach Adonis Navarro, from Cuba, offered a workshop for all trainers that coached their teams during the tournament.

“The logistics have also had a good level, there were also workshops for the coaches that were offered by the national team's technical staff. Life workshops, with a focus on teamwork and the athletes’ personal development,” added who also is a FIBA licensed coach.

 
“The national team staff scouted in search of talents. All athletes were measured and weighed because they were searching for a height profile for this category and bring in the better athletes in the best physical and technical shape to the High-Performance Technical School (ETHAR, for its Spanish acronym),” he added.

The President also assured: “The competition's format for next year will be the same. We believe that it’s the best option to develop these categories. Guatemala City were champions in both sexes. It also helped us as Federation because it was a weekend of absolute integration between the trainers and the national team's technical staff.”

The U12 category is one of the most important in the development of players. It could be said that it's the middle point between the development stage and the beginning of their professional career. Giving continuity to this competition is another one of the great objectives of the FNBG for 2020. That is, to continue placing all efforts in the female and male youth leagues to foster the growth of Guatemalan basketball, and for young people to take this country's basketball to the highest place.

FIBA