The Dominican Republic will apparently get shorthanded in terms of star power for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Amid being included to the preliminary list of participants, national stars Al Horford and Chris Duarte opted to “cancel” their play for the Dominicans at the grand event (h/t Dejan Gajić of Basketball Sphere). The report from the Serbian sports outlet didn’t indicate the exact reasons why both cagers won’t represent their country.
Horford, 37, is coming off another extensive campaign with the Boston Celtics. He appeared in 63 regular season games for the club and averaged 9.8 points, 6.2 boards and 3.8 assists.
Upon making significant retooling this offseason that saw the exit of Marcus Smart and the addition of Kristaps Porzingis, Horford and the Celtics are assumed vying for another deep run in a potentially redeeming 2023-24 season.
Meanwhile, Duarte now finds himself at the Sacramento Kings after being dealt by the Indiana Pacers this summer. Unlike his promising rookie year in 2021-22, the 26-year-old struggled throughout last season due to injuries which ultimately limited him to 7.9 points averages with an inefficient 36.9 percent shooting for 46 games.
Karl-Anthony Towns already declared his commitment to represent the Dominican Republic, but it would be truly daunting for him to enforce the club without the veteran leadership of Horford and the sweet shooting of Duarte.
Nevertheless, the Minnesota Timberwolves cornerstone will still receive plenty of support from reigning NBA G League Most Improved Player Lester Quinones and wingman Justin Minaya who played for the Portland Trail Blazers last season.
The Dominicans are fresh from a solid 94-91 victory against University of Memphis Tigers in a recent friendly matchup.
They will open up their World Cup campaign against host country Philippines on Aug. 25 and will be followed up by group phase bouts versus Italy and Angola.
