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Q&A With Tuto Marchand
On August 24, Canada will compete in the 5th installment of the Tuto Marchand Continental Cup. The exhibition tournament is named after a long-time FIBA Americas executive, Tuto Marchand, who has committed countless hours of his life to growing the game of basketball.
Marchand's basketball work starts in 1956, where he was a referee for the Puerto Rican basketball league. From there, he would help organize World Championship tournaments, sit on the FIBA Central Board, serve as the Vice President of FIBA and he is currently the Secretary General Emeritus of FIBA Americas after holding the position from 1993-2006.
Marchand answered some questions reflecting on his career and previewing the upcoming Continental Cup.
Q: What is your favourite memory of FIBA Americas basketball?
A: There are so many memories. I would say the first FIBA Americas Championship, classification for the Olympics, that happened in San Juan in 1980. It was the first formal event that COCABA hosted. It took us five years to organize that event.
Q: You have spent so much of your life working in basketball, what accomplishment are you most proud of?
A: I’ve spent 73 years in basketball. I remember the case of David Ponce, where the US Federal Court ordered that an illegal player had to play for the Puerto Rican National Team. We didn’t follow the order of the court and followed the Olympic principles. That paved the way for the creation of the law of sports sovereignty.
Q: What is the biggest change you have seen in the sport during your time?
All of them. There has been a revolution in basketball, that concludes next year with the new competition system, the new FIBA governance and to emphasize that there’s only One FIBA.
Q: Who do you think will win this year’s Tuto Marchand Continental Cup?
In the history of the Continental Cup, there have been four winners; three were won by Brazil and one by Puerto Rico. If the paper talks, and I think that in some cases it does, taking in account the composition of the teams, the Canadian team should win.
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