Aug 4th 2008 1:15PM by Tom Ziller (author feed)
Filed under: Hawks, Kings, FIBAVia HoopsHype, Listin Diario reports Al Horford will play for his birth nation, the Dominican Republic, later this month in the Centrobasket tournament in Cancun. The top two finishers will be entered in the 2009 Tournament of the Americas; the top three teams not already entered in the 2010 World Championship pool get berths then.

Horford’s Dominican roots were on display when he was drafted in 2007, as his father Tito waved the nation’s flag as the Hawks selected Al with the #3 pick. The D.R. hasn’t been relevant in international basketball ever, but Horford immediately makes the team a threat to win Centrobasket (take that, Najera!) and possibly place in the FIBA Americas ‘09.

Horford will be joined by Sacramento firefly Francisco Garcia, who could very well play every position but center for the team. I’d expect former Manhattan University point guard Luis Flores to show up as well. Bucks survivor Charlie Villanueva has two Dominican parents, but I’ve never heard rumor of him joining the team. Get these guys together though, and that headline will only be 25% farcical.

(Speaking of farce: Yeah, I’m a little obsessed with Caribbean basketball. I dream of Samuel Dalembert and Quincy Douby reconstituting the Haitian national team and destroying Carlos Arroyo and Peter John Ramos in the 11th-place game of the 2012 London Olympics.)