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McCalebb (Macedonia) & Romero (Venezuela) Schedule in 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament
All Times CST (Caracas is 30 minutes ahead of New Orleans local time)
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CARACAS, Venezuela – The last hurdle to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London will be in sight beginning on Monday as former University of New Orleans basketball players Bo McCalebb and Hector Romero compete in the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying tournament.
The tournament which runs through July 8
th in the Venezuelan capital serves as the final opportunity for 12 teams to gain the three remaining spots in the 2012 London Olympics. The semifinals winners on July 7
th in addition to the third place team will advance to London.
A native of New Orleans who attended O. Perry Walker, McCalebb gained dual citizenship in Macedonia two years ago to set the stage for the guard to reach the Olympics. The all-time leading scorer in both UNO and Sun Belt Conference history, McCalebb will attempt to direct a country with a population of two million citizens to their first Olympic berth.
Macedonia will be competing in this final tournament by virtue of a fourth place finish in the 2011 FIBA European Championships. The lone non-NBA player to earn all-tournament honors at the event, McCalebb scored 21.4 points and averaged 1.9 steals per contest.
Macedonia is paired in the FIBA Olympic qualifier in 'Group D' with New Zealand and Angola. The New Zealand squad reached the Olympic Games in 2000 and 2004 while Angola has most notably won eight of the last nine FIBA African Championships.
Romero will be playing on home soil with the Venezuelan national squad and has had the benefit of working with his teammates including New Orleans Hornets' guard Greivis Vasquez for the better part of a month leading into the event. Former NBA head coach Eric Musselman directs the squad.
A double-double threat for the Privateers from 2001-03, Romero only failed to score in double-figures once during his career due to an injury in his final contest.
No stranger to international competition, the forward has competed with the Venezuelans in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and most recently helped the squad to a second place finish in the 2012 FIBA South American Championship.
Venezuela will look to defend their home court in 'Group B' against Nigeria and Lithuania. The Nigerian squad features former NBA player Ime Udoka while three-time Olympic bronze medalist Lithuania is led by the NBA trio of Darius Songaila (Washington Wizards), Linsa Kleiza (Denver Nuggets) and Saruna Jasikevicius (Golden State Warriors).
The tournament field includes Greece, Puerto Rico and Jordan in 'Group A' with Russia, the Dominican Republic and South Korea comprising 'Group C'. Dominican Republic head coach John Calipari headlines the notable participants alongside the likes of NBA veterans Al Hortford (Dominican Republic), Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) and J.J. Barea (Puerto Rico).
If either McCalebb or Romero were to earn a berth in the Olympic Games, they would be the first former UNO student-athletes to do so since baseball players Joe Slusarski and Ted Wood won gold with the United States in the then-demonstration sport of baseball in the 1988 Summer Games held in Seoul, South Korea.
Updates on the progress of McCalebb and Romero in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament will be posted to UNOPrivateers.com throughout the event.
Live stats and video of the tournament will be available on the FIBA.com web site.
