SAN JUAN (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Most of the players that will compete at the FIBA Basketball World Cup have yet to link up with their national teams but with the tournament tipping off in just 72 days, many are already hard at work getting ready for the event.

One of them is Puerto Rico veteran Jose Barea.

The 1.80m guard, who celebrates his 30th birthday on 26 June, wants to hit the ground running when the squad gathers at its training camp with coach Paco Olmos next month.

"I have begun training the past several days, more on the physical side," said Barea.

He has also been watching some of his Puerto Rico teammates in the domestic league while at home and is eager to begin the workouts with the national squad.

"From the beginning, I am going to be with them," he said.

Puerto Rico will take part in the Centrobasket Tournament in Mexico from 1-7 August.

As the Tuto Marchand Cup has been cancelled this summer, Barea says he has not ruled out competing at the Centrobasket.

"I would have loved to have played the Tuto Marchand here in Puerto Rico, but they are arranging other friendly games so we will see what happens with that," he said.

"(But) if the entire group (national team) goes (to the Centrobasket), we all go.

"I haven't met with them (Puerto Rican Basketball Federation officials) to know what the plans are yet."

Barea is going to be one of the star attractions at Spain 2014.

He won an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 and then joined the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Mayaguez native averaged 15.6 points and 4.2 assists per contest at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship in Venezuela, where Puerto Rico finished runners-up to Mexico.

At the World Cup, Puerto Rico will face Argentina, Greece, Croatia, Senegal and the Philippines in Sevilla's Group B.

In 2002, the Boricuas reached the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis and lost 65-63 to New Zealand.

Since then, World Championships have not been kind to the Puerto Ricans as they failed to advance from the Preliminary Round at the 2006 and 2010 events in Japan and Turkey, respectively.

FIBA