Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Alumni Prepare for FIBA World Cup

A pair of four-year members of the Ole Miss men’s basketball program are set to participate in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which begins August 25 in the countries of Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines, as Sebas Saiz will compete for Spain and Anthony Perez with Venezuela.

Saiz will play for his home-country of Spain, who enters the tournament as the No. 1 team in the FIBA Men’s World Ranking. A four-year starter for Ole Miss, Saiz finished with 1,273 points (26^th in school history), 1,008 rebounds (second in school history), 127 blocks (fifth in school history), 104 steals, and 77 assists.

At the time of his graduation, Saiz became just the seventh player in SEC history with 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 100 blocks in their career. As a senior in 2017, he averaged 15.1 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, pulling in the most boards in a single season in Ole Miss history (409). For his efforts in his final season with the Rebels, Saiz took home the 2017 Howell Trophy and was named to the All-SEC First Team.

Following his time in Oxford, Saiz received an invite to the 2017 NBA Summer League with the Miami Heat, before playing pro in Spain. He has since been playing professional basketball in Japan, most recently with Alvark Tokyo.

Assigned to Group G with Brazil, Iran, and Ivory Coast, Spain will begin play on Saturday, August 26 against Ivory Coast at 8:30 a.m. CT, and can be viewed on ESPN+.

Earning a spot on the roster for Venezuela, Perez graduated from Ole Miss in 2016 after scoring 564 points with 338 rebounds, 68 assists, 54 steals, and 37 blocks in his career. He was a member of the 2013 SEC Championship team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and was a part of the Ole Miss program from 2012 to 2016 that won a total of 87 games during that span.

Perez played one season of professional basketball in Mexico after leaving Mississippi, before returning home to Venezuela, where he played pro in 2017-18 and 2020-21.

Venezuela was placed in Group F with Cape Verde, Georgia, and Slovenia, and will begin play on Saturday, August 26 against Slovenia at 6:30 a.m. CT on ESPN+.

Curtesy of Ole Miss Sports