El Salvador seeks local basketball players to build national team

The Salvadoran Basketball Federation wants to expand and grow their national team programs back home.

To help do that, the federation will hold tryouts for boys and girls players May 19 at the Manassas Park Community Center. The tryouts run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. for two different boys and girls age groups.

The 13- to 14-year-old girls go from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. followed by the 13-14 boys at 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., the 15-16 girls from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the 15-16 boys from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Sergio Rouco will oversee the boys tryouts. A former head men’s basketball coach at Florida International, Rouco is currently an assistant at Samford University.

Ray Santana will oversee the girls tryouts.

Interested players must meet the following requirements to participate in the tryouts:

• Born between 2008 and 2011
• Have or be able to obtain a passport
• Have basketball experience
• Have been born in El Salvador or have parents of Salvadoran descent

Imer Argueta, who was born in El Salvador and is the president of the Gainesville Basketball Association, is the liaison in setting up the tryouts at the Manassas Park Community Center.

To generate interest, Argueta sent the Salvadoran Federation clips of his son Lucas and Lucas' teammate, Noah Conrad, playing high school and AAU basketball. Both played junior varsity basketball for Patriot this past season. Lucas is a 6-foot-4 freshman and Conrad a 6-4 sophomore.

El Salvador has held similar tryouts for girls soccer players to then invite to their youth national team programs.

Argueta is hoping the same thing can happen for basketball. He said the Salvadoran Federation will also conduct tryouts in Los Angeles and Dallas.

“We want to build something,” Argueta said. “El Salvador is not known for basketball and 6-5 kids. It’s known for soccer.”