OPATIJA (Croatia) – Brazil appeared in front of a wide audience for the first time this summer. Despite their instrumental backcourt of Marcelo Huertas and Yago dos Santos not suiting up for this friendly, Aleksandar Petrovic's men still left a very strong impression.
They defeated Poland with a score of 91-75; Poland was once again without Jeremy Sochan.
The story of the game
Brazil have good memories when it comes to FIBA OQTs and Croatia. In 2021, they stormed through the tournament in Split and came just short of punching their Olympic ticket, going down to Germany in the decisive game.
This time around, they look just as fit and athletic as they did three years ago. They started the match versus Poland with the desire to run and get easy points on fast breaks. However, the biggest damage for Igor Milicic's team came from inside the paint, as Bruno Caboclo had one of the best games of his national team career.
Poland tried to shuffle things up with their firm, creative defense. Igor Milicic Jr. hit a couple of threes in the first half to support Mateusz Ponitka, but Poland found themselves down by 10 at half-time. They cut the deficit to as little as 5 points in the third quarter, but Brazil's physical prowess showed in the final quarter, and they won the game comfortably.
The player of the game
Bruno Caboclo was quick to demonstrate his athleticism, tormenting Alec Balcerowski from the early stages of the game. Brazil never doubted the option to feed their center inside, and Caboclo kept getting the job done. His playing time in the second half was limited to a few minutes, but his first-half dominance was just enough for Brazil. Caboclo eventually finished the match with 21 points.
Maozinha Pereira deserves an honorable mention in this category, recording a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The former Memphis Grizzly could turn out to be the next big thing for Brazil with his strong physique and relentless hustle for every rebound.
The stats of the game
Brazil's dominance in the paint was evident—they scored more than half of their points (56) from that part of the court. The size disadvantage would likely be a challenge for many of Brazil's opponents, but it didn't seem like the effort was there for Poland.
Furthermore, Brazil dominated the boards with 41 rebounds compared to Poland's 20, converting their 12 offensive boards into 11 second-chance points.
The takeaways from the game
Brazilian fans must be thrilled to see this team after the addition of Marcelo Huertas and Yago dos Santos. Huertas will obviously provide Brazil with a lot of playmaking, while dos Santos will drastically increase the team's speed on offense. Meanwhile, Brazil's athleticism is already evident, and they always intimidate their opponents with their size. Their defensive intensity still needs improvement, and their last preparation game against Croatia on Wednesday will give a better idea of their ability to guard opposing scorers.
As for Poland, they have now lost their third straight game during this preparation campaign—a worrying sign for Igor Milicic's men. The good news for them is that they were close in all three games. However, they need to improve significantly, especially on the offensive end, to beat tough opposition at the FIBA OQT in Spain.
Poland will play two more preparation games at the end of the week before traveling to Valencia, and maybe Jeremy Sochan will suit up for them to address some of their concerns.
FIBA