Varejao the ''great example'' for World Cup-bound Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil) - There was not a more spine-tingling, perhaps emotional story in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers, than the one offered by Brazil and their veteran center, Anderson Varejao.

At 36 years of age, with a long NBA career finished and national team honors under his belt - like the FIBA AmeriCup triumphs of 2005 and 2009 and the Olympic debut in 2012 when he helped his country to a fifth-place finish - too, the conventional thinking had him calling it a day with the national team.

Many probably thought after his disappointment of 2016, when an injury prevented the 6ft 10in (2.08m) big man from representing Brazil at the Olympics in Rio, that we'd never see him in his country's shirt again.

Yet, whether it was his need for competition, love of his country or desire to achieve what not many others have by playing at a FIBA Basketball World Cup for the fifth time, Varejao was the first player to put his hand up and say he wanted to be part of Brazil's Americas Qualifiers campaign.

"HE'S (VAREJAO) THE FIRST GUY TO THROW HIMSELF ON THE FLOOR AND GET A BALL AND TO FIGHT WITH SOMEONE TO GET INTO THE WORST SPOT ON THE BASKETBALL COURT AND HE'S DOING THAT EVERY SINGLE DAY."- Vitor Benite

And Varejao didn't just make himself available for a few games here and there. He featured in 10 of Brazil's 12 games of the Qualifiers.

He was the definition of hustle, too. Countless times, he was the first man down the court to score on a fastbreak or to follow a teammate and rebound a miss.

"I think this is unbelievable," Varejao's Brazil teammate and good friend, Vitor Benite, said to FIBA.basketball. "To see a guy that's in the last years of his career, with all of the (injury) problems he's had in the last years, and to go out there... he's the first guy to throw himself on the floor and get a ball and to fight with someone to get into the worst spot on the basketball court and he's doing that every single day.

"He sets such a huge example for us and all the younger guys just coming into the national team. To have this level of ambition and competition in you, this is what being a sportsman is all about."

Varejao played at his first World Cup in 2002 in Indianapolis and then competed in 2006 (Japan), 2010 (Turkey) and 2014 (Spain). After launching his professional career with Franca in 1998 at 16 years of age, he moved to Spain to play for Barcelona and then joined the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, where he played from 2004 to 2016.

Varejao finished his NBA career  with the Golden State Warriors, reaching the Finals in his first year. While his former team, Cleveland, hit back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Golden State, the Warriors won the Finals the next year for Varejao's first title. He's been playing in Brazil, with Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro, since January, 2018.

"HE SETS SUCH A HUGE EXAMPLE FOR US AND ALL THE YOUNGER GUYS JUST COMING INTO THE NATIONAL TEAM. TO HAVE THIS LEVEL OF AMBITION AND COMPETITION IN YOU, THIS IS WHAT BEING A SPORTSMAN IS ALL ABOUT.”- Benite

"He had this amazing career in the NBA and won almost everything you can in basketball but he still has this, so he's an example for everyone," Benite said.

Varejao finished the Americas Qualifiers with a team-high efficiency of 18.0 after averaging 11.6 points, 8.3 rebounds. 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks.

"Especially in the national team, Varejao has a different role to what he had while playing for Cleveland or the Golden State Warriors because in the national team, he has to not only rebound and fight, he has to score, to pass the ball, to be a leader," Benite said.

"He has all these qualities. When you put him on the basketball court with the Brazil jersey, he's able to do all of these things at a really good level.

Benite (left) says his good friend and Brazil teammate, Varejao,
is a great example for all Brazilian players to follow

"He has a really good ability to pass the ball, see the open guys, and where to put the ball in the right moment and not only to play in the post and score. He has a really good 2-point shot that can get the floor a little more open. He has all of these qualities, which is really important for the national team."

Varejao is especially an example for Brazil's young bigs like Benite's Burgos teammate in Spain, Augusto Lima, and Chicago Bulls power forward/center, Cristiano Felicio.

"I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYONE LIKE HIM (VAREJAO) BEFORE IN MY LIFE. HE NEVER GIVES UP. HE'S SO STRONG, FIGHTS FOR EACH BALL, FIGHTS EVERY SINGLE MOMENT."- Lima

"Since I've been playing in the national team, I look at  many of the things that he does," the 27-year-old Lima said to FIBA.basketball. "He is for us to what (Luis Scola) is to Argentina, such a great example to follow. At the Olympic Games, the injury kept him out but he still had the motivation to come back for the national team during all the FIBA windows. He's played well and given 100 percent, staying all the time to help the young players, the new generation. This is amazing. It's beautiful."

Benite says the importance of Varejao's attitude when it comes to setting the right tone cannot be overstated.

Lima has drawn inspiration from the relentless play of Varejao

"When you play in the same position as a guy that is 30-something and he gives a 100 percent," Benite said, "when he's talking to someone in our team and then goes and does it on the court, he really fights for the team - the message to the young guys like Lima is that he has to give the minimum and the minimum for Varejao is 100 percent."

"I've never seen anyone like him before in my life," Lima said. "He never gives up. He's so strong, fights for each ball, fights every single moment."

Benite and Varejao will be with Brazil when they face Greece, Montenegro and New Zealand in Group F of the First Round at the World Cup. If they finish in the top two, Brazil would in the Second Round play in Group K and take on the top two sides from First Round Group E that is made up of the United States, Turkey, Czech Republic and Japan.

FIBA