1.
Brazil national basketball team
–
The Brazil national basketball team represents Brazil in FIBAs basketball competitions. The team is governed by the Brazilian Basketball Confederation, abbreviated as CBB and they have been a member of the International Federation of Basketball since 1935. Brazils basketball team remains among the most successful in the Americas and it is the only team besides the United States that has appeared at every Basketball World Cup since it was first held in 1950. Basketball was initially introduced to Brazil by Professor Augusto Shaw in 1896, in 1912, he began organizing the first state tournament and in 1922 the first national team made its debut at games against Argentina and Uruguay. As in the case of football, South America was initially ahead of the rest of the world, in that decade, Brazilian basketball was supported by professional football clubs, to include it as a new sports section, although amateur in nature. Later, these clubs became professional and supported the team with world-class players. In the following years, Brazil became a regular at international competitions. Its basketball squad participated in the first official basketball tournament at the Summer Olympics 1936 in Berlin, in 1939, the first continental championship was held in Rio de Janeiro. In the 40s, basketball was catching on more layers of society, the sport received the ultimate accolade at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. There, against all odds, the directed by Moacyr Daiuto managed to achieve the bronze medal. The team recorded six wins until it stopped due to the semi-final defeat to France. In the bronze match, Brazil beat Mexico. They managed to feature ten amateur players, the pre-Olympic Brazil concentration was very poor in resources. After its time-consuming journey to London, the team was astonishment when they saw how the U. S. team practiced, Brazil only had two for the whole team. One of the pillars of Brazilian basketball was the boldness of its coaches. The father of all is Togo Renan Soares, Kanela. Working in the shadow of the giant football, Kanela understood that basketball would add more followers if it could offer new emotions. He aimed to get the media involved, so the game was conceived as a spectacle based on its dynamism
2.
United States men's national basketball team
–
The USA Basketball Mens Senior National Team, commonly known as the United States Mens National Basketball Team, represents the United States in international mens basketball. The USA team is the most successful team in competition, winning medals in all eighteen Olympic tournaments it has entered. The United States is currently ranked first in the FIBA World Rankings, traditionally composed of amateur players, a 1989 rule change by FIBA allowed USA Basketball to field teams with professional players. The first such team, known as the Dream Team, won the medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. With the introduction of professionals, the team was able to spark a run of dominance after capturing only a bronze medal in 1988. A team of professional players competed at the 1994 FIBA World Championship, in 1996,2000,2008,2012, and 2016 the USA again captured gold medals at the Olympics. Facing increased competition, the USA failed to win a medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, determined to put an end to these failures, USA Basketball initiated a long-term project aimed at creating better, more cohesive teams. The USA won its first seven games at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan before losing against Greece in the semi-finals, the USA won gold two years later, though, at the 2008 Summer Olympics with a dominant performance. The USA continued this streak of dominance by going undefeated and capturing gold once more at the 2012 Summer Olympics,2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the United States possessed a clear advantage in the early decades of international play. Through the next six tournaments, the United States went undefeated, collecting gold while not losing a single contest in the held in London, Helsinki, Melbourne, Rome, Tokyo. Roster until the formation of the 1992 Dream Team, the 1952 team included big man Clyde Lovellette of the University of Kansas, a future Hall of Famer and NBA star, but Kurland once again led the team to victory. The 1956 team was led by San Francisco Dons Bill Russell, the 1972 Olympic mens basketball gold medal game, marking the first ever loss for the USA in Olympic play, is arguably the most controversial in Olympic history. The United States rode their seven consecutive gold medals and 63–0 Olympic record to Munich for the 1972 Summer Olympics, the team won its first eight games in convincing fashion, setting up a final against the Soviet Union. With three seconds left in the medal game, American forward Doug Collins sank two free throws to put the Americans up 50–49. However, the buzzer sounded before Collins second free throw, immediately following Collins free throws, the Soviets inbounded the ball and failed to score. But one official had whistled play to stop with one remaining after hearing the earlier horn. The Soviets argued that they had requested a timeout before Collins foul shots, the referees ordered the clock reset to three seconds and the games final seconds replayed. However, the clock was in the process of being reset when the referees put the ball in play
3.
Brazil
–
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological systems. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, in 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a state governed under a constitutional monarchy. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, the country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup détat. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, Brazils current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, Brazils economy is the worlds ninth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by GDP as of 2015. A member of the BRICS group, Brazil until 2010 had one of the worlds fastest growing economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition. Brazils national development bank plays an important role for the economic growth. Brazil is a member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Unasul, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, CPLP. Brazil is a power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs. One of the worlds major breadbaskets, Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years and it is likely that the word Brazil comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name, early sailors sometimes also called it the Land of Parrots. In the Guarani language, a language of Paraguay, Brazil is called Pindorama
4.
Taiwan
–
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a state in East Asia. Neighbours include China to the west, Japan to the northeast, Taiwan is the most populous state that is not a member of the United Nations, and the one with the largest economy. The island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, was inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before the 17th century. After a brief rule by the Kingdom of Tungning, the island was annexed by the Qing dynasty, the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 after the Sino-Japanese War. While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the Republic of China was established on the mainland in 1912 after the fall of the Qing dynasty, following the Japanese surrender to the Allies in 1945, the ROC took control of Taiwan. However, the resumption of the Chinese Civil War led to the ROCs loss of the mainland to the Communists, and the flight of the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949. As a founding member of the United Nations, the ROC continued to represent China at the United Nations until 1971, in the early 1960s, Taiwan entered a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization, creating a stable industrial economy. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it changed from a one-party military dictatorship dominated by the Kuomintang to a multi-party democracy with universal suffrage, Taiwan is the 22nd-largest economy in the world, and its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy. It is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, health care, public education, economic freedom, the PRC has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and asserted the ROC is no longer in legitimate existence. Under its One-China Policy the PRC refused diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes the ROC, the PRC has threatened the use of military force in response to any formal declaration of independence by Taiwan or if PRC leaders decide that peaceful unification is no longer possible. There are various names for the island of Taiwan in use today, the former name Formosa dates from 1542, when Portuguese sailors sighted the main island of Taiwan and named it Ilha Formosa, which means beautiful island. The name Formosa eventually replaced all others in European literature and was in use in English in the early 20th century. This name was adopted into the Chinese vernacular as the name of the sandbar. The modern word Taiwan is derived from this usage, which is seen in forms in Chinese historical records. Use of the current Chinese name was formalized as early as 1684 with the establishment of Taiwan Prefecture, through its rapid development, the entire Formosan mainland eventually became known as Taiwan. The official name of the state is the Republic of China and it was a member of the United Nations representing China until 1971, when it lost its seat to the Peoples Republic of China. Over subsequent decades, the Republic of China has become known as Taiwan. In some contexts, especially ones from the ROC government
5.
Basketball
–
Basketball is a non-contact team sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of five players each. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high that is mounted to a backboard at each end of the court. The game was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, a team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket being defended by the opposition team during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point, the team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time is mandated when the score is tied at the end of regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by passing it to a teammate and it is a violation to lift, or drag, ones pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling. The game has many techniques for displaying skill—ball-handling, shooting, passing, dribbling, dunking, shot-blocking. The point guard directs the on court action of the team, implementing the coachs game plan, Basketball is one of the worlds most popular and widely viewed sports. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the Euroleague, the FIBA Basketball World Cup attracts the top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for teams, like EuroBasket. The FIBA Womens Basketball World Cup features the top womens basketball teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA, whereas the EuroLeague Women has been dominated by teams from the Russian Womens Basketball Premier League, in early December 1891, Canadian Dr. He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied, after rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot elevated track. Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball and these laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable. Eventually a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith, dribbling was not part of the original game except for the bounce pass to teammates. Passing the ball was the means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a part of the game around the 1950s
6.
Chile
–
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres of Antarctica, the arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes, the southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. Spain conquered and colonized Chile in the century, replacing Inca rule in northern and central Chile. After declaring its independence from Spain in 1818, Chile emerged in the 1830s as a relatively stable authoritarian republic, in the 1960s and 1970s the country experienced severe left-right political polarization and turmoil. The regime, headed by Augusto Pinochet, ended in 1990 after it lost a referendum in 1988 and was succeeded by a coalition which ruled through four presidencies until 2010. Chile is today one of South Americas most stable and prosperous nations and it leads Latin American nations in rankings of human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, state of peace, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption. It also ranks high regionally in sustainability of the state, Chile is a founding member of the United Nations, the Union of South American Nations and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. There are various theories about the origin of the word Chile, another theory points to the similarity of the valley of the Aconcagua with that of the Casma Valley in Peru, where there was a town and valley named Chili. Another origin attributed to chilli is the onomatopoeic cheele-cheele—the Mapuche imitation of the warble of a locally known as trile. The Spanish conquistadors heard about this name from the Incas, ultimately, Almagro is credited with the universalization of the name Chile, after naming the Mapocho valley as such. The older spelling Chili was in use in English until at least 1900 before switching over to Chile, stone tool evidence indicates humans sporadically frequented the Monte Verde valley area as long as 18,500 years ago. About 10,000 years ago, migrating Native Americans settled in fertile valleys, settlement sites from very early human habitation include Monte Verde, Cueva del Milodon and the Pali Aike Craters lava tube. They fought against the Sapa Inca Tupac Yupanqui and his army, the result of the bloody three-day confrontation known as the Battle of the Maule was that the Inca conquest of the territories of Chile ended at the Maule river. The next Europeans to reach Chile were Diego de Almagro and his band of Spanish conquistadors, the Spanish encountered various cultures that supported themselves principally through slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting. The conquest of Chile began in earnest in 1540 and was carried out by Pedro de Valdivia, one of Francisco Pizarros lieutenants, who founded the city of Santiago on 12 February 1541. Although the Spanish did not find the gold and silver they sought, they recognized the agricultural potential of Chiles central valley
7.
Antofagasta
–
Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about 1,100 kilometres north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region, according to the 2012 census, the city has a population of 345,420. The city of Antofagasta is closely linked to mining activity, being a mining area of the country. The last decade has been a growth in the areas of construction, retail, hotel accommodations, population growth. Antofagasta has the highest GDP per capita of Chile,37,000 USD, currently there are several theories to explain the origin of the name Antofagasta. A clear consensus regarding the origin of the word has not yet been determined. It is probably a word that comes from the southern Cacan anto, faya and gasta. However, it says the name Antofagasta is due to a decision by Manuel Mariano Melgarejo, in Chile, Antofagasta is known as La Perla del Norte, for its historical and economic importance. On 18 September 1866, José Santos Ossa and Francisco Puelma achieved the award of the concession of nitrate lands, the exploring of the Chilean miners found rich deposits of saltpeter in the field of Salar del Carmen, to the east of the present Antofagasta. Agreed to form the Sociedad Exploradora del Desierto de Atacama, after the formation of the company, began to fill with what was called La Chimba. On 19 March 1868, the Melbourne Clark Company was established, after the integration of Chilean, after the earthquake in Iquique and Oprah Jiffy of 13 August 1868, it was necessary to give legal recognition to the Chimba as a mining town. On 22 October 1868, the population was established and the port under the name La Chimba. Later the city was renamed Antofagasta, the first official map of the population and the port of Antofagasta was designed by Jose Santos Prada on 14 September 1869. This document set out the grounds of the Melbourne Clark Company, plus 17 blocks, on 8 May 1872, Antofagasta was appointed by the Bolivian Government as Puerto Mayor, open trade worldwide. On 27 November 1873, the Compañía de Salitres y Ferrocarril de Antofagasta signed a contract with the government of Bolivia and this contract was not ratified by the Congress of Bolivia, which was then analyzed negotiations with Chile. In 1873 Bolivia signed a treaty of defensive alliance with Peru. This would be used as an argument 5 years later in Chile, the secret alliance, forbade Bolivia from signing a border treaty with Chile, without consulting with Peru. However, in 1874 Chile and Bolivia signed a border treaty, one of its points was not to impose new taxes on individuals, industries and Chilean capital for 25 years
8.
Temuco
–
Temuco is a city and commune, capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located 670 kilometres south of Santiago at the heart of the modern Araucanía Region, Temuco was founded in 1881 during the occupation of Araucanía and grew quickly into one of Chiles main cities. Temuco has recently been regarded as a university city as it houses two universities, University of the Frontier and Temuco Catholic University. Nobel laureates Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda both lived in Temuco for some time, the word Temuco comes from the Mapudungun language, meaning temu water, temu is the common name of two native trees of the family Myrtaceae, Luma apiculata and Blepharocalyx cruckschankii. Both species are characterized by their bark and by having aromatic fruits. The blend between the words temu and co, probably reflects the fact that these trees frequently grow beside water bodies, the city was founded by Chilean army on February 24,1881 as a fort during the Occupation of the Araucanía. Manuel Recabarren, in charge of the project, named the place Fuerte Recabarren, formed as a military encampment, Temuco had in its origins the attributes of a camp, and a year after its founding, the first major streets started to form in the downtown area. On April 15,1888, the first city officers were elected including the first mayor José del Rosario Muñoz. The city grew quickly, a census in 1895 indicated a population of 7,708 people, Chilean poetry has deep roots in Temuco. Nobel laureates Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda both lived in Temuco, Mistral was the principal of an all-girls school where Neruda would visit her and show her his first verses when he was around 15 years old. In 2010 Temuco was affected by the earthquake on February 27 centered 400 km to the north and it was one of the most affected regions of Chile besides Santiago, Concepcion, Valparaíso and others. The earthquake registered 8.8 Mw on the moment magnitude scale, though landlocked Temuco avoided the tsunamis the earthquake caused, many very strong aftershocks throughout the country followed, including a 7.1 MW earthquake 70 km northwest of the city. Nowadays, Temuco is a fast growing city with diversified commerce, according to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, Temuco had a communal population of 245,347. Of these,232,528 lived in areas and 12,819 in rural areas. The population grew by 24. 4% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the INE projected the 2010 population to be 377,495, which makes it the second largest city south of Santiago, and the fourth largest in the country. One of the features of Temuco is the strong presence of the Mapuche culture, who make up 23. 05% of the population in the Temuco commune. Temuco proper has a population of 227,086, most inhabitants are of different origins. Temuco has a high percentage being of Basque ancestry other than Castilian, thus, one can find indigenous, mainly Mapuche, who account for 13% of the population of Temuco, which makes it the city of Chile with the largest indigenous presence
9.
Mexico national basketball team
–
The Mexico national basketball team is the side that represents Mexico in mens international basketball competitions. The governing body of the team is the Asociación Deportiva Mexicana de Básquetbol, in 2013, Mexico won the FIBA Americas Championship, its greatest accomplishment so far. 19481967199120111983 Fourth Place,1955195919711975198719651975201419912001201619872003 Fourth Place. 196719891997200420062013 Fourth Place.20152006200720092013 Fourth Place,2015 Until the late 1960s, team Mexico was a major force at the world stage. The team won the medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics, finished 4th at the 1948 event. At the FIBA Americas Championship 2009 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mexico finished 7th, ahead of Panama, Venezuela, on individual performances, Gustavo Ayon finished among the tournaments top performers in steals, blocks and minutes per game. Both Eduardo Najera and Earl Watson expressed their interest in representing Mexico internationally, however, neither received permission by their NBA teams to participate at the FIBA Americas Championship 2009 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mexico took part in the FIBA Americas Championship 2013 to replace Panama, to the surprise of many they beat hosts Venezuela in their opening game and advanced to the second round with wins over Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. They later finished top of the second round group and a semi-final win over heavy favourites Argentina saw them through to the final. On 11 September 2013, they beat Puerto Rico 91-83 in the Gold medal game to win the FIBA Americas Championship, inside player Gustavo Ayon was voted as the tournaments Most Valuable Player. The surprising gold medal at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship secured Mexico a spot at the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain and this marked the first qualification to the Basketball World Cup in 40 years. At the 2014 FIBA World Cup, the Mexicans won two of their five preliminary games against Korea and Angola which earned them a playoff spot for the first time in their history. They would, however, come unstuck against eventual champions USA, especially noteworthy was Mexico’s 3 point field goal percentage, which was one of the highest among all the teams at the event. Due to Mexicos strong performances of late, the gained the right to host the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship
Brazil (1st title)
United States
Chile
Formosa
United States
Argentina
United Arab Rep.
Soviet Union
Canada
Mexico
Bulgaria
Puerto Rico
Philippines
Uruguay
