LEÓN, Mexico – Old Dominion women's basketball player Brenda Fontana is set to play in next week's FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2023 tournament as a member of Team Argentina.
"It means a lot to me to represent my country on every occasion," said Fontana. "But because this is my first time on the seniors' team, it is a special tournament for me. It's an honor to play with and against so many great players. I am excited about the experience, and I will give my best to represent Argentina and ODU in the best way possible. The expectations are to win as many games as possible, to have a high level of competition against every team, and to play our best basketball. Personally, I will focus on playing my game, being able to give the team what they need from me each game, and learning as much as possible."
"Having Brenda represent her country in the FIBA Women's AmeriCup tournament is a tremendous honor for her personally and for us as a program," added ODU head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones. "We couldn't be more proud of her efforts to fulfill the dream she's had, for many years, of representing her country on a national level."
A rising junior from Moreno, Argentina, Fontana scored 85 points (2.7 ppg) with 58 rebounds (1.8 rpg), nine assists, six steals and two blocks in 32 games for the Monarchs this past season. She scored a season-high eight points with seven boards in an 87-75 win at Arkansas State on Feb. 4 and scored eight points with three boards in ODU's Sun Belt Championship Semifinal game versus James Madison on March 5.
Fontana has played on Argentina's U17, U18 and U19 teams. At the U19 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in 2019, she scored 17 points with six rebounds and five steals against Colombia. She also had a 25-point performance versus Latvia at the U17 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in 2018.
"My experience on previous teams for Argentina at a younger age has been helpful because I understand the difference between playing in a club, in a university and playing for your country," continued Fontana. "It is a privilege to feel so much emotion while playing, caused by the sense of belonging that we all share, added to the fact that there are many other players that would want to be on the team as well. For that same reason, it also comes with a huge responsibility."
Argentina opens the tournament with a 4:40 p.m. ET meeting with the United States this Sunday. Las Gigantes will then play Brazil on July 3 at 4:40 p.m. and Cuba on July 4 at 2:10 p.m. Argentina rounds out the group phase next Wednesday, July 5 when they take on Venezuela at 4:40 p.m.
Also competing in the AmeriCup in Group B are Canada, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Colombia. Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico also qualified through the Centrobasket Women's Championships, while Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela qualified from the South American Women's Championship.
Host nation Mexico is hosting the AmeriCup at Domo de la Feria, built in the mid 1980s and home to the Abejas de León of Mexico's National Professional Basketball League, LNBP. The AmeriCup opens with the Group Stage, held on July 1-5. Quarterfinal games will be played on July 7, the Semifinals on July 8, and the Championship Final is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on July 9. The top two teams in the AmeriCup guarantee their spots in the world FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Teams finishing 3-6 will earn a spot in the FIBA Americas Women's Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament.
The entire tournament will be streamed on Courtside 1891.
"I think that having that experience has helped me see my life attached to it," said Fontana. "In other words, to learn how to live as a player when practice or workouts are over. It has guided me throughout my career by teaching me from a young age how to be more professional, which eventually brought more opportunities to my life. Keeping your spot on the team requires an extra effort that you might not see in everybody, but it is definitely worth it."
Fontana to Represent Argentina at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup
