RIO DE JANEIRO (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - A player is never too old to dream about achieving great things.

To earn a spot in Brazil's squad for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup would most assuredly be a great thing for Henrique Macia Alves da Cruz.

At 30 years of age, the 1.98m power forward/center of Paulistano has been a professional for a long time, but not a member of Brazil's national team - until now.

He is in the training camp ahead of the South American Championship (24-28 July) that will be staged in Margarita Island, Venezuela, and solid performances would put him in the reckoning for a place in the World Cup squad.

"I hope to progress and fight with my teammates to get a spot in the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, in 2015," he said of the South American Championship.

"And maybe win a spot on Ruben's (Brazil coach Magnano) team for the World Cup in Spain."

Henrique Macia Alves da Cruz is no stranger to Jose Neto, Magnano's national team assistant who is serving as head coach of the Brazil side at the South American Championship.

Neto led Flamengo to a FIBA Americas League and Brazilian league double this season.

"He was my first coach in the Sao Paulo (Paulistano) adult club," the player said.

"It was a huge learning experience. He is a personal friend and was very important when I was starting out as a player.

"It's good (to be with Neto again) because I am used to his method of working, one that is very similar to that of my coach at Paulistano, Gustavo de Conti.

"You have to play with intensity and be versatile.

"It is an honor to work with him back in the national team."

Pilar, as Henrique Macia Alves da Cruz is known, has a rich tradition of sports in his family.

"My father, Mario Sergio, 62, was a football player from Sao Paulo.

"My mother, Eliana Vaz Macia, was a swimmer and got to compete at the Olympics in Mexico in 1968.

"But the encouragement of my maternal grandfather, Arnold Vaz Macia, a former basketball player, determined my career."

Pilar launched his pro career 10 years ago at Paulistano and also also spent time at Sao Jose dos Pinhais, Parana (2006), FTC/Salvador, Bahia (2007), Sao Bernardo (2009) and Bauru (2010), before returning to Paulistano.

Something that no doubt works to his advantage with Brazil's national team is his ability to play different positions.

He has played everywhere on the court in his basketball life.

"Basketball has evolved and become faster, and there is the need for more versatile players to play pivot," he said on the Brazilian Basketball Confederation website.

"I feel comfortable playing as three (wing) or four (wing/pivot)."

FIBA