SAN JUAN (FIBA Americas Championship) - Venezuela has been selected as the host country for the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship.
The FIBA Americas Executive chose Venezuela ahead of Chile after a closely-run selection process.
It will be Venezuela's first time hosting the event, which will be held in August 2007 and will act as a qualifier for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Venezuela had a delegation that included the president of the South American Basketball Confederation Jose Carmelo Cortez and the president of the Venezuelan Olympic Committee Eduardo Alvarez.
Cortez afterwards expressed his satisfaction at the decision.
He said: "FIBA Americas gave us this chance because of our high standards at a technical level.
"That's the main reason. We handed them an offer which Chile could not match."
However Cortez denied claims that the decision was purely a financial one, saying: "It wasn't just a better money offer."
The statement came after his Chilean counterpart, Miguel Herrera, had criticised the announcement by saying: "Money decided everything. We weren't even asked about the level of our team."
Cortez promised that "Basketball will close 2007 with a grand finale," but insisted he would not be resting on his laurels.
"This is the beginning of a dream," he added, "as we'll be fighting to host the 2014 World Championship.
"We have an obligation to show Venezuela is a country with the ability to organise this kind of event."
PA Sport