They lost 91-89 to Panama on Thursday (September 7), and combined with Venezuela's victory over Uruguay that means they finished sixth in the eight-team championship, in which the top four advance to the semi-finals.

Of those four, the two finalists will reach London, with the remaining two sides joining Venezuela in a final Olympic qualifying tournament.

Brazil, Argentina, Puerto Rica and the Dominican Republic all qualified for the semi-finals, with Uruguay and Panama both joining Canada in exiting the Olympic qualifying process.

Rautins resigned after the loss to Panama in Mar del Plata, ending a six-year reign as the team's coach.

Rautins enjoyed a long-playing career in Europe and the United States, and was a key player for the national side before becoming coach.

With a limited selection pool, he was always up against it in the FIBA America, but the disappointing finish looks like being the end of the line for some of the squad as well as Rautins, with a number of youngsters coming through.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]