Brazil 75, Canada 67

August 22, 2007 � Las Vegas, Nevada

When you think of Brazil�s Leandro Barbosa, you think of speed. True to form, the 6�4�� guard got off to a fast start and ultimately helped Brazil race to a 75-67 victory. Canada, however, would not go quietly. As such, the contest was much more a marathon than a sprint.

Barbosa netted 11 points during an opening quarter in which Brazil, as a team, shot 67 percent from the field. Facing a 25-12 deficit after one period of play, Canada would make some noise. Juan Mendez�s hot hand in the second stanza (five-of-seven from the field), helped pull the Canadians to within three points at the half, 36-33.

The second half would once again belong to Barbosa, who finished with a game high 30 points. Adding 12 points and nine rebounds was forward Tiago Splitter, who was a factor inside all night. Samuel Dalembert tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Canadians while Mendez finished with 18 points in a losing effort.

Notes: Canada�s Andy Rautins sustained what appeared to be a knee injury early in the first half of Canada�s loss to Brazil.

BRAZIL HEAD COACH � ALUISIO FERREIRA
Canada was able to take over the tempo a little bit to take over the game, the same thing happened in the second half, could you explain how Canada got back into the game and what you need to do to control the tempo again?
We started playing well but then after the turnovers in the second quarter, it took the team out of their rhythm. We did a better job on defense and we regrouped the number of turnovers in the third quarter. We had a little bit of trouble at the beginning of the fourth quarter but then we took over again. We worked on our defense and we finished strong

LEANDRO BARBOSA
Could you talk about the satisfaction about getting this game.
The first game is always really important for us and I think we did a great job. We know we have to do a lot of things to beat other teams but we came here to win and we did tonight. Tomorrow we have a day off and we will fix a lot of things in practice so we can be better in the next game.

Can you talk about what exactly it is you need to fix for the next game?
We missed a lot of passes and had a lot of turnovers and we let them [Brazil] come back in the game.

What does it mean to have Nene back on the team?
He is with us now, he is key for us. Hopefully he will help us his help is important now.

CANADA HEAD COACH � LEO RAUTINS
How is your son?
It is tough. He is a real important part of our team. He has been a facilitator, he's one of our best shooters and he has become one of our better defenders. He came in with the group in the second quarter that got us back into the game, losing him has a big impact on this team, not to mention he's my son.

You guys played real well against one of the better teams in the tournament, are you encouraged despite the loss?
I think we're capable of playing a lot better than we did. We made a lot of mental mistakes especially down the stretch. We started the game flat as well. Not a lot of energy defensively and we didn't do the things we talked about going into the game. Offensively we just stood around waiting for things to happen instead of creating situation. Brazil is a great team, they have been together along time. I think we can play a lot better than we did.

JUAN MENDEZ
I believe in my teammates, we have a great team we have a solid front line. We have a solid core of guys and we're not going to back down from no one. We have to come together and figure out how to win.