Prior to the Finals of the National Wheelchair Basketball League, the coach of the Team Para Chile, Juan Soto, sent the list with the names of the players who will participate in the Parapan American Games.
Among these players, there’s the name of one of the most well-known characters in the Para Sports Movement, no other than the President of the National Paralympic Committee of Chile (Copachi in Spanish) and Chief of the Santiago 2023 Organizing Committee, Sebastián Villavicencio.
The 40-year-old Chief said that “it hasn’t been easy, but I try to keep things separated,” when asked about his “double duty”. “During this time, I’ve tried to stay away from the organizational part of basketball, the team’s coaching staff is very experienced and they are the best at what they do. I’m trying to stay away and I prefer to only be another Para athlete.”
The wheelchair basketball competitions, which will be held at Polideportivo 1 inside Parque Estadio Nacional, will feature both male and female events. For males, the draw determined that Chile will be in Group A alongside Argentina, Venezuela, and Canada; while Group B is composed of Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and the United States.
Villavicencio, who has a sports classification of two on a scale that goes from one to four, the lowest number representing a higher impairment level; talked about the expectations of the Chilean quintet for Santiago 2023. “We have some very developed sports, with global podiums, and then we have others like wheelchair basketball, which is still developing and has been growing in recent years, but it’s still going to be really difficult to get a medal in this Games,” he claimed.
Beyond the results, the defender of the Lobos club from the district of El Bosque is looking forward to this continental competition. “Being able to be there and take part is something that, for this sport and for me as a player, makes me really happy, and being the Captain is a dream come true,” he said.
The matches will be disputed from November 18th to the 25th, and the tickets are available at Puntoticket.
SANTIAGO 2023 WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
MALE AND FEMALE COMPETITIONS
POLIDEPORTIVO 1 - PARQUE ESTADIO NACIONAL (ÑUÑOA)
Group phase: from Saturday, November 18th to Tuesday, November 21st.
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, November 22nd.
Male 7th place and female 5th place competitions: Thursday, November 23rd.
Male 5th place and female Semifinals: Thursday, November 23rd.
Male Semifinals: Friday, November 24th.
Female Finals: Friday, November 24th.
Male Finals: Saturday, November 25th.
