Argentina 91, Brazil 80

September 1 , 2007 � Las Vegas, Nevada

Argentina's 91 - 80 victory over Brazil in the Semifinal round of the FIBA Americas Championship not only means they will contend for the gold medal in Sunday's final game but it ensures them a berth in the Bejing Olympics.

Brazil dominated early on, shooting 60 percent (18 of 30) and held a 43-35 lead at the half.

Agrentina came out of the locker room at the half with a sense of urgency and quickly went on the offensive, outscoring Brazil 30-13 in the third quarter. Luis Scola led Argentina's effort in their comeback scoring 10 of their third quarter points. He led all scorers with 27 points on 10 of 14 shooting from the field.

Leandro Barbosa and Alex Ribeiro led Brazil with 16 points apiece.

SERGIO HERNANDEZ, ARGENTINA HEAD COACH
How would you describe this new achievement by Argentina?
I am extremely happy about this. We have played two tournaments of the same caliber and came out strong on both. Now we have just to be happy and look forward to our upcoming challenges. Hopefully we will go into the Olympic Games as strong as we entered and performed in this tournament. It has been a long tournament, and we are very tired too. Five months ago when we were putting this team together and Ginobili and Oberto said they could not participate, some people did not believe that this team could qualify Argentina for the Olympic Games� but we always knew we could do it, and we did it. I think this is a great day for us.

Throughout this tournament, have you been in touch with those Argentinean basketball players who could not be here?
For those players who are not here with us, all I want is to salute them from here because for us they are still part of this team and are with us right now. They've done a lot for the Argentina team over the years despite the fact that they could not participate in this tournament with us. These players have also been in touch with some of our players here, such as with Delfino, to find out how we are doing and to give us support.

Can you comment on Delfino's performance today?
Carlos was key for us on the second half of today's game. He is always ready to give his all for this team as happened today. He carried our team on his shoulders in the third quarter, and that is why he is in the NBA. They played great. I actually think that the third quarter was our best quarter of the game. During the third quarter, we made great shots against a strong defense while during the forth quarter, the Brazil team played with desperation, and we had many easy shots because of it.

CARLOS FRANCISCO DELFINO, ARGENTINA
Can you comment on your performance today?
We had a competitive game today, and our team did great. Offensively we were just trying to make a run for it, get closer to the basket and make clean shots. We were also trying to play more defense, and I think that was key for us today.

What are your thoughts about this achievement?
I think this group started to work as a team slowly. We got more confident during this tournament, and today we are qualified to go straight to the Olympics. Coming into this tournament, we knew the other top teams were the U.S., Brazil and Puerto Rico� the teams with bigger guys. I think that we showed everyone who questioned this team with this win and qualification.

ALUSIO FERREIRA, BRAZIL HEAD COACH
Could you give us an update on Nene?
Nene had a muscular injury, which disabled him to take part in the rest of the game. It has nothing to do with his knee. It seems to be a superficial injury, but we will have an official answer once the doctor sees him tonight. I believe he will not be playing tomorrow. We will actually have to survey our players to see who will have the condition to play. It is understandable that our players are tired, especially because of all the effort they put into trying to qualify straight to the Olympic Games. Regardless of this physical and emotional tiredness, I think that our players have such a strong dignity that they will continue to represent their country to the best of their abilities no matter what.

How will Brazil prepare for their next chance to qualify for the Olympic Games?
Brazil had two chances to get qualified for the Olympics, this tournament and the World Pre-Qualifiers. The World Pre-Olympics will be in one year from now. After going back home, the Brazilian National Confederation will evaluate our team and put together another plan so we can come out successful next year.

There is a media outlet who reported on conflicts within the Brazilian National Team. Is that true?
No. This is a rumor created outside of our group. We have always been a strong and united team throughout this tournament.

TIAGO SPLITTER BEIMS, BRAZIL
I'm sure this loss is disappointing, but how will you prepare for tomorrow's game?
Today's loss is a big blow for us, but tomorrow we do have to remember that we have another game to play. We knew we could win today. I actually think we had this game on our hands. We do feel bad because of this letdown, but tomorrow we will have a tough game in front of us. We will try to concentrate now on that game and do our best tomorrow.