BRAZIL - Shine without Janeth

The Seleçao is in transition following the retirements of three basketball greats, but National Team coach Paulo Bassul is eager to help the Brazilians write a new chapter in their history.

No one will forget Janeth, a player whose 15-year influence on the game made her the Oscar Schmidt of Brazil's Women basketball. Then there was the talented 2m center Alessandra, and the beautiful, long-range shooting stroke of Helen. The three pillars of the National Team helped the South American giants capture gold at the 1994 FIBA World Championship, silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, bronze at the Sydney Games four years later and fourth-place at both Athens 2004 and the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Brazil. How important was this trio to the `Auriverde'? In that last tournament, which was played in Brazil, the magical trio combined for more than 35 points and 17 rebounds per game - almost half of the team's total output. So with their international retirements, it's only natural to think Brazil will struggle to retain its lofty FIBA ranking as the world number four.

The first result for newly-installed coach Paulo Bassul, the successor to long-time boss Carlos Barbosa, was a disappointing third place at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship in Chile. Brazil suffered an unexpected semi-final defeat to Cuba. However, that Brazilian team was not at full strength with Erika de Souza and Adrianinha both unavailable. The only WNBA player present in Chile was Iziane Castro. A player who can run onto the floor as a shooting guard or small forward, Iziane was the main offensive threat of the Seleçao. Everything turned sour for her, however, when she was thrown off the team at the qualifying tournament in Spain after refusing to enter Brazil's quarter-final against Belarus in overtime. Iziane had not played at all in the third or fourth quarters following an apparent disagreement with Bassul before half-time. The preliminary squad confirmed that she will not play in Beijing. Point guard 'Claudinha', who had been out of the Brazil team since 2002, returned to the set-up in Chile. 'Micaela' and 'Chuca' on the wings and 'Mama' in the paint were the other main pieces of the squad. Fresh names on the new list include Natália Burian, a small and energetic point guard, and power forward Karina Jacob - both from Catanduva, the vice-champions of the Brazilian League. Jaqueline Silvestre, a forward from the Under-21 National Team, has also been promoted.

The team at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Madrid was stronger with the addition of Kelly Santos, althougth Adrianinha, a scoring point-guard, and the big body of Erika De Souza did not play. This trio has already played in the WNBA and taken part in past international campaigns of the Seleçao. After the departures of the big names in Brazilian basketball, each will have increased responsibilities. Karla Costa, an Olympian from Athens who also played last summer, has recovered from a right knee injury. "We have a group conformed of talented players who wil be fully focused on achieving our aims," she warned.

One disadvantage for Bassul in the build-up to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament was that his leading players' involvement with their clubs prevented them from joining the team's preparations. WNBA commitments kept the likes of Erika and Iziane from taking part in the first phase of the program, which included the South American Championship in Ecuador from May 23 to May 29. In Madrid, Brazil won their first two games, including a 71-68 win against host Spain, to finish top of Group C. But Belarus defeated Brazil in the quarter-finals, winning 86-79 in overtime, forcing Bassul's team to win two more do-or-die games against Angola and Cuba before validating their ticket for Beijing.

WNBA players Erika De Souza and Adriana Pinto both missed the qualifying tournament in Madrid but are still a big part of the national team set-up.

ROSTER
Player Height (Ft) Position Birthdate Club Team 2007-08
Claudia DAS NEVES 1.70 (5-6) 1 17/02/75 Stade Clermontois (France-LFB)
Natalia BURIAN 1.62 (5-4) 1 20/06/84 Açúcar Cometa/Unimed/Catanduva
Adriana PINTO 1.68 (5-7) 2 06/12/78 Gospic Industrogradnja (Croatia-A1)
Karla DA COSTA  1.73 (5-8) 2 25/09/78 Açúcar Cometa/Unimed/Catanduva
Jacqueline SILVESTRE 1.78 (5-10) 2/3 17/02/86 Sport/Maurício de Nassau (Brazil-CNBF)
Patricia FERREIRA 1.80 (5-11) 2/3 21/05/79 Colchões Castor/FIO/Unimed/Ourinhos
Micaela JACINTHO 1.80 (5-11) 3 12/06/79 TTT Riga (Latvia-LSBL)
Jucimara DANTAS 1.90 (6-3) 4/5 04/02/78 Villeneuve-d'Ascq (France)
Soeli ZAKRZESKI 1.87 (6-2) 4/5 11/12/77 Mann Filter Zaragoza (Spain)
Tatiana CONCEICAO 1.85 (6-1) 4/5 15/10/81 Colchões Castor/FIO/Unimed/Ourinhos
Kelly SANTOS 1.92 (6-4) 5 11/10/79 Extremadura Dato (Spain-LFB)
Graziane COELHO 1.91 (6-3) 5 18/01/83 Mizo Pecs (Hungary)
Franciele NASCIMENTO 1.90 (6-3) 5 19/10/87 Divino/COC/Jundiai (Brazil-SP)
Erika DE SOUZA 1.96 (6-5) 5 09/03/82 Atlanta Dream (WNBA)
Reserves
Karen GUSTAVO 1.75 (5-9) 2 03/04/84 Colchões Castor/FIO/Unimed/Ourinhos
Iziane CASTRO 1.82 (6-0) 2/3 13/03/82 Colchões Castor/FIO/Unimed/Ourinhos
Karina JACOB 1.85 (6-1) 4/5 24/05/85 Açúcar Cometa/Unimed/Catanduva (Bra)
COACH: Paulo BASSUL


Last 10 FIBA events
Year Event Place Achievement
2007 FIBA Americas Championship Valdivia Bronze medal
2007 Panamerican Tournament Rio de Janeiro Silver Medal
2006 FIBA World Championship San Pablo 4th
2006 South American Championship Asuncion Gold medal
2005 FIBA Americas Championship Dominican Rep. Silver medal
2005 South American Championship - Gold medal
2004 Olympic Games Athens 4th
2003 FIBA Americas Championship Culiacan Gold medal
2002 FIBA World Championship China 7th
2001 FIBA Americas Championship Brazil Gold medal

How did they qualify?

2007 FIBA Americas Championship, Final Round
3rd place (4 W - 1 L)

1st round
Sept-26th 2007 Brazil b. Argentina 72-62
Sept-27th 2007 Brazil b. Chile 104-60
Sept-28th 2007 Brazil b. Mexico 119-44

Semi-final
Sept-29th 2007 Cuba b. Brazil  69-67

Third-Place
Sept-30th 2007 Brazil b. Argentina 73-41


2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament
5th place

Preliminary round
June-10th 2008 Brazil b. Fiji 125-45
June-11th 2008 Brazil b. Fiji 71-68

Quarter final
June-13th 2008 Belarus b. Brazil 86-79

Semi-final (for the last qualification ticket)
June-14th 2008 Brazil b. Angola  75-58

Fifth-Place final (for the last qualification ticket)
June-14th 2008 Brazil b. Cuba 72-67