Incas in Central Chile and Uspallata Pass (32º50' S). This attack from the east would have been done in order to avoid the more direct but inhospitable routes crossing the Atacama Desert. José Toribio Medina claimed in 1882 that the Incas entered Central Chile from both north and east. Troops of the Inca Empire are reported to have reached Maule River and had a battle with Mapuches from Maule River and Itata River there. After securing the regions of northern Chile, Copiapó, Coquimbo, Aconcagua and the Maipo Valley around what is now Santiago, the Inca general Sinchiruca sent 20,000 men down to the valley
Sport in Chile mainly in the cities of Iquique, Tocopilla, Antofagasta and Arica, as well as some other cities such as Santiago, San Antonio, Melipilla and Concepción. Basketball is a popular sport in Chile. The country earned a bronze medal in the first men's FIBA World Championship held in 1950, and won a second bronze medal when Chile hosted the 1959 FIBA World Championship. Chile hosted the first FIBA World Championship for Women in 1953, finishing the tournament with the silver medal. In the last few years, basketball has regained the popularity it had in Chile in the 1950s and 1960s. The Basketball