Brazil Pounds Puerto Rico 78-53
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June 26, 2010 • San Antonio, Texas
As expected when two of the top basketball programs in the FIBA Americas zone go up against each other, Brazil (1-0) and Puerto Rico’s (0-1) U18 national teams produced a very physical battle. However, Puerto Rico proved to be no match for the strong Brazil squad as the South Americans prevailed for the 78-53 victory in opening round action at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship on Saturday afternoon at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas.
Brazil was paced to the victory by 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots from 7-0 center Lucas Noguiera, who came off the bench to shoot 8-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from the line in 19 minutes of action.
“I always put on my jersey to play well,” said Noguiera. “I always expect to play really well but I did not think I would do this well because Puerto Rico is such a hard team.
“I feel really good,” continued Noguiera. “I was nervous before because everyone expecting to play is going to have nerves but it is very important. During the game I calmed myself by telling myself everything will be okay. My teammates also played very well and gave me confidence.”
The teams will return to FIBA Americas U18 Championship action tomorrow with Puerto Rico facing Canada (1-0) at 1:00 p.m. (all times local, CDT), while Brazil will take on Uruguay (0-1).
The first half was a back and forth battle featuring one knotted score and seven lead changes. Brazil closed the half with a 6-0 run to jump ahead of the islanders and headed into the locker room with a 29-28 edge.
“At halftime, I told the team to calm down, relax, just play our game,” said Brazil head coach Walter Roese, associate coach at the University of Hawaii. “We turned the ball over too much in the first half, but they are junior players. Always the first game is hard. From now on, I hope we’ll be playing better.”
The Brazilians stormed into the second half and asserted itself on both ends of the court. Not only did they hold Puerto Rico to a paltry five points in the third quarter, the South Americans poured in 26 points to jump ahead 55-33 with 10 minutes still to play. The fourth quarter was a more even affair, but with the game in the bag, Brazil rested its starters for most of the stanza and still maintained its large lead through the close of the game.
“We needed to adjust…we were nervous, but when we calm down, we play our game and we play well,” added Roese. “From day one, I’ve told our team, we don’t have one star, we have 12. We’re a group; we’re a strong team. We came here to qualify for the world cup next year and for the title.”
Puerto Rico’s Gary Browne was his squad’s high scorer with 13 points.
As expected when two of the top basketball programs in the FIBA Americas zone go up against each other, Brazil (1-0) and Puerto Rico’s (0-1) U18 national teams produced a very physical battle. However, Puerto Rico proved to be no match for the strong Brazil squad as the South Americans prevailed for the 78-53 victory in opening round action at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship on Saturday afternoon at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas.
Brazil was paced to the victory by 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots from 7-0 center Lucas Noguiera, who came off the bench to shoot 8-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from the line in 19 minutes of action.
“I always put on my jersey to play well,” said Noguiera. “I always expect to play really well but I did not think I would do this well because Puerto Rico is such a hard team.
“I feel really good,” continued Noguiera. “I was nervous before because everyone expecting to play is going to have nerves but it is very important. During the game I calmed myself by telling myself everything will be okay. My teammates also played very well and gave me confidence.”
The teams will return to FIBA Americas U18 Championship action tomorrow with Puerto Rico facing Canada (1-0) at 1:00 p.m. (all times local, CDT), while Brazil will take on Uruguay (0-1).
The first half was a back and forth battle featuring one knotted score and seven lead changes. Brazil closed the half with a 6-0 run to jump ahead of the islanders and headed into the locker room with a 29-28 edge.
“At halftime, I told the team to calm down, relax, just play our game,” said Brazil head coach Walter Roese, associate coach at the University of Hawaii. “We turned the ball over too much in the first half, but they are junior players. Always the first game is hard. From now on, I hope we’ll be playing better.”
The Brazilians stormed into the second half and asserted itself on both ends of the court. Not only did they hold Puerto Rico to a paltry five points in the third quarter, the South Americans poured in 26 points to jump ahead 55-33 with 10 minutes still to play. The fourth quarter was a more even affair, but with the game in the bag, Brazil rested its starters for most of the stanza and still maintained its large lead through the close of the game.
“We needed to adjust…we were nervous, but when we calm down, we play our game and we play well,” added Roese. “From day one, I’ve told our team, we don’t have one star, we have 12. We’re a group; we’re a strong team. We came here to qualify for the world cup next year and for the title.”
Puerto Rico’s Gary Browne was his squad’s high scorer with 13 points.
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