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06 - 20
August 2016
11 Clarissa SANTOS (Brazil)
30/07/2016
News
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Brazil complete two-game warm-up series win over Japan

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympics) - Brazil on Friday completed a two-game warm-up series win over Japan thanks to an 87-74 triumph in Campinas.   

The win serves as a moral booster for the Rio Olympics hosts who had lost all three preparation games against France early this month. 

And despite playing the series without Iziane Castro, a key member of the team who is recovering from an unspecified injured, Brazil prevailed.  

The triumph comes a day after Brazil saw off the FIBA Asia champions 70-54 on Thursday.

Both Clarissa Santos and Erika De Souza gave local fans something to cheer about as the pair led the way with 20 points apiece.  

Damiris Dantas, who had led the Brazilians with 19 points on Thursday, joined Palmira Marcal to finish with 11 points each, while Mika Kurihara and Ramu Tokashiki had team-highs 12 points each for the East Asians.

"This was a friendly game with the Olympics atmosphere," said Santos who finished with a game-best 10 rebounds to complete her double-double. 

"There won't be easy games at the Olympics," she continued. "We made some mistakes early in the game, but we stayed together because that was the only way to win the game."

"There is still a long way to go, but we are very focused," noted Santos, who is set to become a two-time Olympian. 

The game, Brazil head coach Carlos Barbosa said, gave his team a tip of what to expect when the two teams meet up again in Group A of the Rio Olympics.

"Japan is a dangerous team. We scored 87 points without Iziane against a team that can shoot the ball well. Had we missed all those shots we would have lost the game."

Brazil will resume their preparations in Rio, where they will face Serbia (2 August) and China (3 August).

FIBA