Guaros de Lara win another one for Venezuela

FRANKFURT (Intercontinental Cup 2016) - It's not easy to follow in the footsteps of a great coach, which former Guaros de Lara boss Nestor 'Che' Garcia most certainly is in the eyes of basketball fans in Venezuela.

But his successor, Ivan Deniz, is doing just fine so far. He set out on the right path on Sunday, leading the team after just two short weeks at the helm to Intercontinental Cup glory. His players prevailed, 74-69, against Fraport Skyliners in Frankfurt, Germany.

Deniz was only put in charge of the club at the end of August and at his unveiling, he spoke about his predecessor Garcia, the man who not only steered Guaros to Liga de las Americas 2016 (FIBA Americas League 2016) glory just several months ago but also coached Venezuela's national team to its finest ever moment, the FIBA Americas Championship last year.

"There is nothing to correct (at Guaros) because the work of Che was perfect," Deniz said at his unveiling.

Because Guaros won the Liga de las Americas, they had the right to play in the Intercontinental Cup. Their opponents, Fraport, got the opportunity as last season's FIBA Europe Cup winners.

After Sunday's triumph in a sold-out Fraport Arena, Deniz was asked how it felt to make history. He took a deep breath and talked about his whirlwind two weeks.

"I feel happy," he said. "When the owner said, 'We're going to play in the Intercontinental Cup in Germany against Skyliners, and the idea is for us to win,' I said, 'Okay. But we need time.' We had only two weeks.

"That was the time to talk to the players and the staff. We went day by day. We had only two or three rules on defense. On offense, we had some problems." 

Guaros had four Venezuela players that just competed at the Olympics in their lineup: Heissler Guillent, Gregory Echenique, Nestor Colmenares and Windi Graterol. 

Their Venezuela teammates not in Rio were right behind them on Sunday.

The victory for a Venezuelan club in international competition is being trumpeted as a triumph for the entire country.

"Right now, I feel good because Venezuela is a country that is coming on year by year," he said of the basketball teams. "It's very important for the country and the people there because of the (socio-economic) problems. I think it's a good moment for the people to enjoy." 

Club president Jorge Hernandez said the team will take the trophy to the Divina Pastora, the patron saint of Barquisimeto.

FIBA