Laying a new, winning foundation

Venezuela didn't go into the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship expecting to win a medal.

The country that is number 22 in the FIBA World Rankings travelled to Mar del Plata with the aim of playing hard, and clinching a top-five finish to earn a place in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The man charged with the responsibility of getting the most out of the team, and laying the foundation for the future, was a bright, highly-rated coach named Eric Musselman.

By the time his team had walked off the court on September 8 after a 92-80 win over Uruguay, the Venezuelans had accomplished their mission.

"We ended the championship with a 4-4 record," Musselman said.

"We had loses to Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Argentina and wins over Cuba, Canada, Panama and Uruguay.

"Our goal coming in was to somehow get the fifth spot so all of us are extremely happy."

There were plenty of doubters going into this summer.

The team had a new coach, and plenty of question marks about their players.

"Many thought this would be a rebuilding year as we went with such a young team," Musselman said.

Venezuela has two big advantages in comparison to the rest of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament field: their key player are young and, of course, they are playing at home.

The team is led by 24-year-old Greivis Vásquez, who was top in both scoring and assists. Recent seasons have seen him improving steadily, before being drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2010. Traded to the New Orleans Hornets in November 2011, he has since become a regular starter.

The Caracas-born star averaged a team-best 19.3 points per game.

Vazquez showed he was ready from the off, pouring in 26 points in a 92-83 defeat to heavily-favored Brazil, and he nearly had a triple-double in the next contest - a 92-89 defeat to the Dominican Republic.

He finished with 16 points, nine assists and 10 rebounds.

Against the Argentinians, Vazquez was a real handful.

He scored 11 points, handed out 10 assists, grabbed five boards and came up with five steals but Argentina won, 111-93.

The next two games were what really mattered for Venezuela as they thrashed Panama, 110-74, and then beat Uruguay in the battle for fifth place.

"Our team's average age was 26, so the future for the Venezuela national team is very bright," Musselman said.

"Young big men Windi Graterol and Jose Bravo really developed their games in a short period.

"Off-the-bench players Nestor Colmenares and Dwight Lewis are also first-year professionals."


Another young player to follow is Gregory Echenique. The Mérida-born stood out in 2011 with only 20 years old with his physicality and amazing capacity to rebound and dunk the ball.

Venezuela know that with 12 teams at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and just three places for London up for grabs, it's going to be a big ask to advance.

Venezuela will start their campaign against Nigeria, followed by Lithuania. Should they finish above either of their Group B opponents, the team will have a couple of days off before playing in the Semi-Finals the first of two qualifying games.

Although qualification for London remains a tough ask, the Venezuelans have already proved they can be a very difficult team to face and with a vital year of experience under their belts in Mar del Plata and the likes of Vazquez champing at the bit to show what he can do, their opponents had better beware.

As for their previous Olympic experience, Venezuela competed at the 1992 Games in Barcelona and came in 11th.

Their last major tournament appearance was the 2006 FIBA World Championship when the team finished tied with three other sides for 21st after winning just once in Japan.

FIBA