FIBA 2013 - Participating Players
The 2013 FIBA Americas Championship for Women, held in Xalapa, Veracruz, was as exciting as it could be. The best national teams of Cuba, Canada, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Jamaica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Chile provided us with some of the best moments on the field. The atmosphere was a mix of tension, enthusiasm, anticipation, and hope. We can only thank the lovely ladies from the national teams who put their heart and soul in the games and on the field and made the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship for Women worthwhile. The female athletes, who proudly presented their nations, impressed the masses and basketball fans big time on the field. Who they are and where they come from can be found below.
The Cuba Female FIBA Athletes.
With the jersey number 8, Francis Ochoa proved to be one of the key players in the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship. The Cuban athlete was born in 1990 and plays the forward position. With a height of 185 cm, she is one of the tallest players on the field. Nowadays, she plays for the Union Florida team in Argentina but is proud to be a part of the Cuban Basketball National Team. The statistics showed that Ochoa’s average PPG was 2.2, RPB 1.5., and APG 0.2.
Another Cuban big shot during the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship was Ineidis Casanova at the guard position. Born in Santiago the Cuba in 1988, the athlete grew up with a passion for basketball, despite being only 160 cm tall. Her PPG during the tournament was 3, her RPB 1.8, and APG 3.3.
Canada Female FIBA Athletes.
Christa Phillips is one of the most feared basketball female players on the field with a height of 198 cm. She occupies the center position in her team and scored 4.7 points on average during the FIBA Americas tournament making her team confidently strong. Her average RPG was 3.2 and APG 0.2. The Canadian basketball superstar was born in 1988 and has come a long way in her career. She also participated in Team Canada for the Summer Olympics in London 2012.
Kia Nurse was only 17 when she stepped up for the Canadian National FIBA Team in 2013. The 175 cm tall athlete plays the guard position, and her statistics showed an astonishing average PPG of 10 points per game. Her RPG was 2 and APG 2.5. When we see her stats, it is no surprise that Canada qualified for the FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey 2014.
Brazil Female FIBA Athletes.
Brazil made it to the finals by taking the bronze medal in the 2013 tournament, and itsnational team certainly accounted for many great moments and scores. Let us present you some of the Brazilian female athletes which count to the best basketball players in the world.
Adriana Pinto is an athlete with a long basketball career. She plays the guard position with a height of 165 cm. The player was born in 1978 which made her one of the most experienced players on the field during the 2013 championship. She contributed to the team’s performance with an APP of amazing 10.3 points per game, 2.5 Rebounds per Game, and 4.8 Assists per Game. Adriana Pinto was born in Sao Paolo and has been playing basketball since an early age.
Taina Paixao was also very valuable to the Brazilian team during the tournament on the guard position. The then-22-year old scored 4.6 points per game on average, and her RPG was 1.4 and APG 2.4. The basketball star was very proud to play for the national team of her country in such an important championship.
Puerto Rico Female FIBA Athletes.
The 4th ranked national team was Puerto Rico with a very strong line-up of players who made the qualification games worthwhile. One of their most outstanding players on the field was Ashley Prim from Bridegeport, Puerto Rico. With only a height of 165 cm, she managed to reach an average PPG of 7.7 points, RPG 1.7, and APG 1.5.
The talented Carla Cortijo, born in San Juan in 1987, managed to push her team forward with the highest GPP by now with 15.5 points on average, a 4.7 RPG, and 5.3 APG at the shooting guard position. This player was already named the Best High School Basketball Player of 2002 in Puerto Rico. She also led the Puerto Rico National Team to the gold medal at the Pan American Games in 2011.
Argentina Female FIBA Athletes.
Argentina secured the 5th place in the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship for Women and had an astonishing team that led Argentina to this rank. The Argentina team featured some of the most renowned Argentinian female players, like Paula Reggiardo at the small forward position. This player scored 7.2 points on average per game, with a RPG of 1.5 and APG 2.8. One of her assets, besides pure talent is also her height of 178 cm which she uses to her advantage on the basketball field.
Sthefany Tomas was yet another little shining star on the field with a 5 point PPG average, 1.2 RPG, and 0.5 APG contributing to her team’s performance. Playing the forward position, she dominated for most part of the games and made Argentina proud.
Other Remarkable Players
The other five teams: Chile, Jamaica, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Mexico, also featured some of their greatest female basketball players like Mexico’s Alexis Castro with a 15.2 PPG average, or Chilean Javiera Morales who scored 9.5 points per game on average, Simone Edwards from Jamaica with a 11.2 PPG, Johanna Morton from the Dominican Republic (PPG 6.5), Venezuelan Ivaney Marquez with incredible 13.5 average points per game, etc.
The 2013 FIBA Americas Championship for Women was a delight with all the super talented girls on the field, each of them giving their best to make their country proud. Despite the fact that only Brazil, Canada and Cuba (along with the USA) made it to the World Championship 2014, all players and teams were great giving us one of the biggest sports sensations of 2013.