Venezuela men's national basketball team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Venezuela women's national basketball team.

The Venezuela national basketball team is organized and run by the Venezuelan Basketball Federation (FVB). (Spanish: Federación Venezolana de Baloncesto) They won the 2015 FIBA AmeriCup.

Venezuela

FIBA ranking	25 3 (15 August 2024)[1]
Joined FIBA	1938
FIBA zone	FIBA Americas
National federation	Venezuelan Basketball Federation
Coach	Fernando Duró
Nickname(s)	La Vinotinto de las alturas
Olympic Games
Appearances	2
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	5
FIBA AmeriCup
Appearances	17
Medals	Gold: (2015) Silver: (1992) Bronze: (2005)
Home Away

Venezuela qualified for two Summer Olympiads: 1992, and then 2016. Venezuela hosted the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the country's most prestigious basketball event ever.^[2] Later, the country also hosted the 2013 FIBA AmeriCup.

Venezuela has participated in international competitions: International Basketball Federation (FIBA), Summer Olympic Games, the FIBA World Cup, the South American Championship, the Pan American Games and the Bolivarian Games.

Honours

• FIBA AmeriCup

Winners: 2015

Achievements

Summer Olympics

Year	Position	Tournament	Host
1992	11	1992 Summer Olympics	Barcelona, Spain
2016	10	2016 Summer Olympics	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

FIBA Basketball World Cup

Year	Position	Tournament	Host
1990	11	1990 FIBA World Championship	Argentina
2002	14	2002 FIBA World Championship	Indianapolis, United States
2006	23	2006 FIBA World Championship	Japan
2019	14	2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup	China
2023	30	2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup	Philippines, Japan and Indonesia
2027	TBD	2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup	Qatar

FIBA AmeriCup

Year	Position	Tournament	Host
1988	7	1988 Tournament of the Americas	Montevideo, Uruguay
1989	4	1989 Tournament of the Americas	Mexico City, Mexico
1992		1992 Tournament of the Americas	Portland, United States
1993	6	1993 Tournament of the Americas	San Juan, Puerto Rico
1995	9	1995 Tournament of the Americas	Tucumán, Argentina
1997	7	1997 FIBA Americas Championship	Montevideo, Uruguay
1999	5	1999 FIBA Americas Championship	San Juan, Puerto Rico
2001	5	2001 FIBA Americas Championship	Neuquén, Argentina
2003	5	2003 FIBA Americas Championship	San Juan, Puerto Rico
2005		2005 FIBA Americas Championship	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2007	8	2007 FIBA Americas Championship	Las Vegas, United States
2009	9	2009 FIBA Americas Championship	San Juan, Puerto Rico
2011	5	2011 FIBA Americas Championship	Mar del Plata, Argentina
2013	5	2013 FIBA Americas Championship	Caracas, Venezuela
2015		2015 FIBA Americas Championship	Mexico City, Mexico
2017	9	2017 FIBA AmeriCup	four cities in Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay
2021	7	2022 FIBA AmeriCup	Recife, Brazil
2025	TBD	2025 FIBA AmeriCup	Managua, Nicaragua

Pan American Games

See also: Basketball at the Pan American Games

• 1955 – 6th
• 1975 – 8th
• 1983 – 8th
• 1987 – 8th
• 1991 – 10th
• 2015 – 7th
• 2019 – 5th

FIBA South American Championship

See also: FIBA South American Championship

• 1961 – 8th
• 1979 – 5th
• 1985 – 4th
• 1987 –
• 1991 –
• 1993 –
• 1995 – 4th
• 1997 –
• 1999 –
• 2001 –
• 2003 – 4th
• 2004 –
• 2006 – 4th
• 2008 –
• 2010 – 4th
• 2012 –
• 2014 –
• 2016 –

Bolivarian Games

• 2001 –
• 2005 –
• 2009 –
• 2013 –

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.^[3][4]

Venezuela men's national basketball team – 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. PG 5 Gregory Vargas 37 – (1986-02-18)18 February 1986 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Gladiadores de Anzoátegui SF 6 Garly Sojo 23 – (1999-09-23)23 September 1999 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Broncos de Caracas SF 7 Jhornan Zamora 34 – (1989-01-30)30 January 1989 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Trotamundos PG 8 David Cubillán (C) 36 – (1987-07-27)27 July 1987 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Guaiqueríes de Margarita SG 9 Pedro Chourio 33 – (1990-03-13)13 March 1990 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Cocodrilos de Caracas PF 14 Miguel Ruiz 32 – (1990-12-20)20 December 1990 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) Guaros de Lara C 15 Windi Graterol 36 – (1986-09-10)10 September 1986 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Guaiqueríes de Margarita PG 19 Heissler Guillent 36 – (1986-12-17)17 December 1986 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Guaros de Lara PG 20 Yohanner Sifontes 28 – (1995-08-19)19 August 1995 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Piratas de La Guaira PF 24 Michael Carrera 30 – (1993-01-07)7 January 1993 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Estudiantes SF 35 José Materán 27 – (1996-08-17)17 August 1996 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Gaiteros del Zulia PF 43 Néstor Colmenares 35 – (1987-09-05)5 September 1987 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Trotamundos	Head coach Fernando Duró Assistant coach(es) Pablo Favarel Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 25 August 2023

Notable players

Other notable players from Venezuela:

Venezuela roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club SF Donta Smith 33 – (1983-11-27)27 November 1983 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Elan Bearnais G Greivis Vásquez 30 – (1987-01-16)16 January 1987 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Free agent	Legend Club – describes current club Age – describes age on 11 July 2017

Head coach position

• Jesus Cordobés: 1990
• Julio Toro: 1992
• Guillermo Vecchio: 1998
• Bruno D'Adezzio: 1999
• Jim Calvin: 2002
• Néstor Salazar: 2003–2007
• Nelson Solórzano: 2008
• Nestor Salazar: 2009–2010
• Eric Musselman: 2011–2012
• Che García: 2013–2017
• Fernando Duró: 2018–present

Past rosters

Donta Smith

1990 World Championship: finished 11th among 16 teams

4 David Díaz, 5 Cesar Portillo, 6 Armando Becker, 7 Nelson Solorzano, 8 Rostin González, 9 Luis Jiménez, 10 Sam Shepherd, 11 Carl Herrera, 12 José Echenique, 13 Gabriel Estaba, 14 Iván Olivares, 15 Alexander Nelcha (Coach: Jesus Cordobés)

1992 Olympic Games: finished 11th among 12 teams

4 Víctor Díaz, 5 David Diaz, 6 Melquiades Jaramillo, 7 Nelson Solorzano, 8 Rostin González, 9 Luis Jiménez, 10 Sam Shepherd, 11 Carl Herrera, 12 Omar Walcott, 13 Gabriel Estaba, 14 Iván Olivares, 15 Alexander Nelcha (Coach: Julio Toro)

2002 World Championship: finished 14th among 16 teams

4 Víctor Díaz, 5 Pablo Ezequiel Machado, 6 Yumerving Ernesto Mijares, 7 Richard Lugo, 8 Alejandro "Alex" Quiroz, 9 Óscar Torres, 10 Diego Guevara, 11 Carl Herrera, 12 Héctor "Pepito" Romero, 13 Vladimir Heredia, 14 Tomas Aguilera, 15 Carlos Morris (Coach: Jim Calvin)

2006 World Championship: finished 21st among 24 teams

4 Víctor Díaz, 5 Pablo Machado, 6 Yumerving Ernesto Mijares, 7 Richard Lugo, 8 Tomás Aguilera, 9 Óscar Torres, 10 Carlos Alberto Cedeno, 11 Miguel Marriaga, 12 Gregory Vallenilla, 13 Manuel Alejandro Barrios, 14 Heberth Alberto Bayona, 15 Carlos Morris (Coach: Néstor Salazar)

See also

• Venezuela men's national under-19 basketball team
• Venezuela men's national 3x3 team
• Venezuela women's national basketball team

References

1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
2. FIBA.com – FIBA – Venezuela and Turkey to host 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments
3. "Los 12: Venezuela presenta a la Selección Nacional que jugará la Copa del Mundo FIBA 2023". venezuela.basketball. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
4. "Team roster: Venezuela" (PDF). FIBA. 25 August 2023.

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)
• FIBA profile
• Venezuela Basketball Records at FIBA Archive
• Latinbasket – Venezuela Men National Team

Videos

• Venezuela v Brazil – Game Highlights – Gold-Medal Match – 2016 FIBA South American Championship Youtube.com video
• Venezuela v Argentina – Gold Medal Game Highlights – 2015 FIBA Americas Championship Youtube.com video