This will be the sixth time that Mexico participates in the FIBA World Cup. Basketball Sphere wrote about the possibilities of this team.
After a 40-year drought, Mexico returned to Mundobasket in 2014. They missed the tournament in China 2019, but now they will compete again with the best national teams in the world.
FIBA World Cup – Mexico: Previous editions and the best results of the national team
As we have already established, Mexico is coming to Mundobasket for the sixth time in its history. This will be their second appearance at the last three editions of the World Cup. They achieved the best result way back in 1967. Then, Mexico finished as eighth best team on the planet.
After that, Mexico waited 40 years for their next appearance, and in 2014 they finished 14th in Spain. In the round of 16, they played against the United States and it was a game of cat and mouse.
FIBA World Cup – Mexico: Road to Mundobasket
United States, Puerto Rico and Cuba were Mexico rivals during the first part of the qualifiers. There, they advanced to the next round as the second-placed team behind USA with a 4-2 record. They can boast of the fact that in one of the two duels they triumphed against the favored USA.
In the next round, real drama followed. All of that was foreshadowed by the defeat against weak Colombia at home. In the end, they came to a situation where they needed a win versus Uruguay in the last round. Luckily for Mexico, result in Montevideo was 82:69 in their favor.
FIBA World Cup – Mexico: Roster and focus on those who are expected the most
Gabriel Giron, Israel Gutierrez, Fabian Jaimes, Orlando Mendez and Paul Stoll – make up the five that played all the qualifying games for the national team and are the core of the team along with Pako Cruz.
Cruz, Gutierrez, Stoll, Mendez and Hector Hernandez already have the experience of playing at the World Cup, as they were part of the roster from the tournament in Spain nine years ago.
Manisa guard, Cruz, was the best Mexico scorer in eight games played with an average of 17 points and four assists. Giron was also efficient with 14.8 points and 3.4 rebounds.
At the forward position, Daniel Amigo also contributed. In the seven games played he averaged 13.4 points, grabbed over five rebounds and handed out three assists to fill all the statistical columns.
Joshua Ibarra will also have a role in this team, as will Jorge Gutierrez. These are more or less the ones who are expected to spend the most time on the floor and carry this team.
FIBA World Cup – Mexico: More about head coach – Omar Quintero
Mexico is led from the bench by one of the best basketball players ever to come from that country. Omar Quintero is a truly respected name in the basketball circles of South America. During his playing career, he was the captain of the national team for 17 years. Also, Quintero is the first Mexican to play in the Endesa League.
Interestingly, he worked with Aleksandar Petrovic in Italy, and after that he gave the Croatian expert the nickname “El Maestro” and considers him the best coach he ever played for.
“We want to return Mexico to the World Cup” – these were the words he addressed a year ago, while the qualifiers were still in progress. He succeeded in his intention.
FIBA World Cup – Mexico: Expectations
It’s hard to expect when you look at the draw for the World Cup that Mexico can pull off a surprise. Group D is formed together with Montenegro, Lithuania and Egypt, and they will play their games in Manila.
It is clear that on paper Lithuania and Montenegro will compete for the first two places. Mexico will look for its chance in a clash against Egypt, and in the classification after that.
Coming to the Mundobasket is a huge success, so you shouldn’t expect much more from the “Mexican gang”. One win is definitely their best-case scenario in Group D.