NBA’s Towns, Horford, Duarte included in Dominican Republic’s FIBA World Cup roster

MANILA, Philippines – Three NBA players are part of the Dominican Republic’s extended roster for the FIBA World Cup next month.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns, Indiana Pacers young gun Chris Duarte and Boston Celtic Al Horford are included in the Dominicanas’ extended roster.

Towns played 29 games in the NBA last season, putting up 20.8 points per game, 8.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game as he battled injuries. 

He last played for the national team in the 2013 Americup.

Duarte, meanwhile, saw a dip in his per-game statistics last season, norming 7.9 points, 2.5 boards and 1.4 dimes in 46 games. He played for the country in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

Horford, for his part, averaged had 9.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and three assists in 63 games for Boston last season. He saw action for the Dominican Republic in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament back in 2012.

Other players included in the roster are Andres Feliz, Gelvis Solano, Jean Montero, Richard Bautista, Victor Liz, Rigoberto Mendoza, LJ Figueroa, Lester Quinones, Juan Suero, Gerardo Suero, Luis Montero, Justin Minaya, Jassel Perez, Angel Delgado, Eloy Vargas, Jonathan Araujo, Juan Guerrero, Antonio Pena, Luis Santos, Joel Soriano, Vaxel Lenderborg, Eddy Polanco, Anyeuri Castillo, Miguel Dicent, Brandone Francis and Sadiel Rojas.

The Philippines will open its World Cup campaign against the Dominican Republic on August 25 at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

The Dominican Republic is in Group A of the tournament along with the Philippines, Italy and Angola.