2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship For Men To Be Held In San Antonio, Texas

Jan. 26, 2010 - Colorado Springs, Colorado

FIBA Americas today announced that USA Basketball and San Antonio Sports have been awarded the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men.  The U18 Championship will take place at the Bill Greehey Arena on the campus of St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, from June 26-30.

The 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship will feature eight national teams, only athletes born on or after Jan. 1, 1992 are eligible. The top four finishing teams will earn qualifying berths for the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men.

The awarding of the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men marks the second time USA Basketball and San Antonio Sports have joined forces to hold the event in the Alamo City.  The event was also held in San Antonio in 2006.

Teams in addition to the United States that will participate in the 2010 U18 tournament include: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and U.S. Virgin Islands.

The tournament format calls for the eight teams to be divided at a later date into two preliminary round groups consisting of four teams each.  Preliminary round play will be held June 26-28, each team plays the other three teams in its preliminary group.  The top two finishing teams in each preliminary round group will then advance to the June 29, medal round semifinals and play for 1st-4th places.  Teams placed third and fourth in each preliminary round group will advance to the consolation semifinals and play for 5th-8th places.  The FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men gold and bronze medal games, and the 5th/6th place and 7th/8th place games will be conducted on June 30.

-FIBA Americas is pleased that USA Basketball is the organizer of this event which features our elite players from 18 years or younger. San Antonio is a first class city with a lot of basketball tradition and all the players will be very happy to be able to play there," said FIBA Americas Secretary General, Alberto Garcia. -Our experience in 2006 was extraordinary and we are sure that this time around USA Basketball and the local organizing committee will surpass our expectations again."

-We're excited to again join efforts with San Antonio Sports to host this prestigious event," said USA Basketball CEO/Executive Director Jim Tooley.  -When we worked together and held the U18 championship in San Antonio in 2006 it was a success at every level and one of the best U18 Championships ever. I'm confident it will again be a tremendous international basketball event.

-The 18 and under age group is an exciting level of competition and this tournament will not only feature some of FIBA Americas best U18 men's national teams but it will also showcase some of the top young basketball talent from North, South and Central Americas as well as the Caribbean."

-San Antonio Sports is excited to partner with USA Basketball to bring this prestigious tournament back to the Alamo City," said Dr. Susan Blackwood, Executive Director of San Antonio Sports. -These young men are the future stars of NBA and international basketball and we promise to deliver a wonderful experience that neither they nor their coaches will forget. We also look forward to giving San Antonians of all ages the opportunity to enjoy a fun, affordable and inspiring international tournament in one of our city's premier basketball facilities " the Bill Greehey Arena at St. Mary's University."

Originally known as the FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifier, the tournament has been held since 1990.  USA men's teams boast of a sensational 33-2 overall record in the U18 championships and have won gold in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2006, while capturing a silver medal in 2008 and the bronze in 2002.

Sites of prior FIBA Americas U18 Championships for Men include Formosa, Argentina in 2008; San Antonio in 2006; Isla Margarita, Venezuela in 2002; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic in 1998; Santa Rosa, Argentina in 1994; and Montevideo, Uruguay in 1990.

Some of the top players who have represented the United States in the past U18 tournaments include Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1994); Carmelo Anthony (2002); Michael Beasley (2006); Chris Bosh (2002); Dee Brown (2002); Nick Collison (1998); Jonny Flynn (2006); Spencer Hawes (2006); Grant Hill (1990); Allan Houston (1990); Andre Iguodala (2002); Stephon Marbury (1994); Mike Miller (1998); Quentin Richardson (1998); Kyle Singler (2006); Kemba Walker (2008) and Deron Williams (2002).

Notable members of other national teams who have competed in the U18 Championship include Leandro Barbosa (Brazil) 1994; Jose Barea (Puerto Rico) 2002; Gregory Echenique (Venezuela) 2008; Juan Fernandez (Argentina) 2008; Todd MacCulloch (Canada) 1994; Jamal Magloire (Canada) 1994; Peter Ramos (Puerto Rico) 2002; Luis Scola (Argentina) 1998; Tiago Splitter (Brazil) 2002; and Jesse Young (Canada) 1998.

USA Basketball plans call for selection of the 12-member USA U18 Team to be made during team training that will be held June 14-25 in San Antonio with approximately 20 U.S. hopefuls participating. 

Selection of the USA U18 Team will be made by the USA Basketball Men's Junior National Team Committee, which is chaired by Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim, and also consists of Lorenzo Romar (University of Washington head coach), Bruce Weber (University of Illinois head coach), Roy Williams (University of North Carolina head coach), and athlete representative Jay Williams (2002 USA World Championship, 2000 USA U20, 2000 USA Select and 1999 USA Hoop Summit team member).

Other major international events USA Basketball has hosted include the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship for Men (Olympic qualifier) (Las Vegas, Nev.); 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men (San Antonio, Texas); 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women (Colorado Springs, Colo.); 2002 FIBA Men's World Championship (Indianapolis, Ind.); 1992 FIBA Americas Tournament of the Americas / Olympic Qualifier (Portland, Ore.); 1985 FIBA Women's Junior World Championship (Colorado Springs, Colo.); and the first COPABA Women's Junior World Championship in 1977 (Squaw Valley, Calif.).

USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for men's and women's basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the United States by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA teams that compete in FIBA sponsored international basketball competitions, as well as for some national competitions.

USA Basketball is governed by a 10-member Board of Directors, who are appointed and elected by active members. Jerry Colangelo serves as Chairman of USA Basketball for the 2000-2012 term.  Serving since January 2001 as USA Basketball's CEO/Executive Director is Jim Tooley, who has been with USA Basketball since 1993.

USA Basketball is an organization made up of organizations.  There are five member categories " Professional; Collegiate; Scholastic; Youth; and Associate.  All told, 25 organizations are members of USA Basketball.

During the 2005-2008 quadrennium, 707 men and women players and 147 coaches participated in USA Basketball, including USA Basketball trials and USA Basketball teams.  USA teams competed in 31 major international events from 2005-2008 and won medals an astounding 28 times, including gold or top finishes 22 times, silver four times and bronze medals twice.  All told those teams compiled a sparkling 199-23 win-loss record for an 89.6 winning percentage.

For further information about USA Basketball, go to the official Web site of USA Basketball at http://www.usabasketball.com/. 

San Antonio Sports
San Antonio Sports, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2009, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to transform our community through the power of sport.  San Antonio Sports bids on and hosts premier sporting events like the NCAA® Final Four®, which have generated a local economic impact of more than $320 million.  It has hosted three men's and two women's NCAA Final Four championships and is designated as an NCAA Championship City, a program which features multiple hosting opportunities for NCAA Division I, II and III championships.  San Antonio Sports youth initiatives, including Dreams for Youth, the Community Olympic Development Program, the Valero Go!Kids Challengeâ„¢ and School Rock Challenge, annually touch the lives of more than 160,000 children in San Antonio through sports training and fitness programs.  Additionally, San Antonio Sports serves as a catalyst for the development of quality recreational and athletic facilities in our community.  To learn more, visit www.SanAntonioSports.org.

FIBA Americas
With its offices located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, FIBA Americas (Pan-American Basketball Confederation) is one of FIBA's (International Basketball Federation) five regional zones. A non-profit organization that was founded October 11, 1975 in Mexico City, Horacio Muratore (Argentina) is the current President and Alberto Andres Garcia (Puerto Rico) serves as Secretary General.

FIBA Americas itself consists of 44 national federations and it is divided into three zones: 1- North America (Canada and the United States); 2-Central America and the Caribbean, which is divided into two organizations, which are: Caribbean (consisting of Antigua & Barbuda, Antillas Holandesas, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Dominique, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, St. Kitts, & Nevis, St. Marteen, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos, U.S. Virgin Islands) and Central America (consisting of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama), these national federations, in turn, are members of the Central American and Caribbean Confederations of Basketball (CONCECABA); 3- South America consists of 10 countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Equator, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela) and they are members of the South American Basketball Confederation (CONSUBASQUET).

FIBA Americas organizes and controls, in coordination with FIBA, all men's and women's basketball tournaments in the Americas zone, while also assigning referees for the competitions. For more information about FIBA Americas, visit www.fibaamericas.com.