RIGA (Latvia) - Despite facing tough competition at the FIBA World Cup 2023, where they emerged as the fourth-best American national team after Canada, USA, and Puerto Rico, Brazil heads to Riga with high hopes for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
The Roster
With Aleksandar Petrovic back in charge after being away from the green-and-gold bench since 2021, the Brazilian national team, ready to play in this summer’s FIBA OQT in Latvia, is the perfect mix of past, present, and future.
Still sticking to the game he loves with a tireless work ethic and instinctive passion, Marcelinho Huertas could conclude his national team career with his third Olympic Games participation after 2012 and 2016. Guard Vitor Benite and center Cristiano Felicio, both from the ACB League, will also bring a wealth of experience to the team.
The Brazilian sporting vocabulary might need an update to describe the “present” accurately, as this year’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament marks a pivotal moment for the Yago dos Santos-Bruno Caboclo duo. They’re not alone, as Georginho de Paula and Leo Meindl also had productive individual club seasons in Germany and Japan.
The future belongs to Gui Santos, who’s coming off his second season between the NBA and the G-League after being selected with the 52nd pick in the 2022 Draft by the Golden State Warriors. Last year in Indonesia, he showcased his versatile skills, but in Latvia, his responsibilities and minutes are expected to grow even more.
Finally, Raul Neto is eager to return to action with Brazil after missing the entire season. Helping his country secure a ticket to the Olympics in Paris nearly a year after rupturing his right knee patellar tendon would be the perfect closing of the circle.
The Question
Following the twenty-point defeat (104-84) to Luca Banchi’s national team in Jakarta that ruled them out of contention early in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, can Brazil take its revenge in Riga?
On paper, Latvia and Brazil are the two favorites in their respective Groups A and B. If they both meet expectations and find themselves fighting for an Olympic spot on July 7, the South American side will face an entire nation. But that’s what it takes in the end.
The Hope
Sharing the court for a decade representing Brazil, Marcelinho Huertas and Tiago Splitter formed a deadly duo in pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop action, playing together worldwide until 2014, when the big man retired from the national team.
With the 41-year-old magician still playing and his close-knit partner now entering the coaching staff, they could be perfect mentors to the newly established duo of Yago dos Santos and Bruno Caboclo. For Brazil to succeed, these two must deliver.
First winning together in Ulm and now both playing in Belgrade—respectively with Crvena Zvezda and Partizan—their chemistry on and off the court has reached its peak. This looks like the perfect time for the two irmãos ("brothers" in Portuguese) to shine like never before, pushing Brazil back to its glory days around the five interlaced rings.
The Fear
Since the introduction of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Brazil has never managed to go all the way to victory. This doesn’t mean they haven’t participated in any Olympic Games during this period, but so far, this format has never led to their qualification.
Heading to London 2012 and Rio 2016 as the second-best team at the FIBA Americas Championship 2011 and as hosts of the Olympics respectively, they missed out on participating in both Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2020 by not meeting their goal at the FIBA OQTs in Greece and Croatia.
In Athens, they crushed Lebanon by 40 points but lost to the hosts at OAKA before surrendering to Dirk Nowitzki and Germany in the Quarter-Finals. In Split, they went all the way to the final with an average 27-point differential against Tunisia, Croatia, and Mexico but lost once again to Germany. If two clues make a pattern, losing in three out of three FIBA OQTs would establish a dramatic trend.
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