BRA – Brazil supremo Carlos Nunes thinks big

RIO DE JANEIRO (2010 FIBA World Championships) - Big things are happening in Brazil, the land of the gold-medalists at last year’s FIBA Americas Championship.

The country is gearing up for this year’s FIBA World Championship in Turkey, where Brazil will take on Team USA, Croatia, Slovenia, Tunisia and Iran.

But it also has one eye on the 2016 Olympic Games that will be in Rio de Janeiro.

The country’s basketball confederation decided recently to put the reins in the hands of Ruben Magnano, the coach of the Argentina side that finished runners-up at the 2002 FIBA World Championship and then clinched gold two years later at the Athens Games.

Brazil Basketball Confederation president Carlos Nunes gave this interview to Jeff Taylor for FIBA.com.

FIBA: Mr Nunes, after playing well in Athens at the 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament but failing to qualify for the Beijing Games, Moncho Monsalve led a much stronger team to the FIBA Americas Championship gold medal last summer. Did he meet your expectations in his two years as coach of the national team?

Carlos Nunes: Moncho did an excellent job with the Brazilian national team. Our spot to Beijing 2008 was very close to us. If we had had the complete team, I can assure you the Brazilian team would have taken part in the 2008 Olympics in China. Moncho brought a breath for Brazilian basketball and after the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens, we knew he could lead the team to the title in the FIBA Americas Championship in Puerto Rico last year. It is also import to say that we had a very committed staff and players who showed a lot of professional spirit.

FIBA: Did Moncho’s back operation before Christmas contribute to his departure from the national team? Why exactly was the decision taken to have a change and appoint Ruben Magnano?

Carlos Nunes: We had a contract with Moncho until the end of 2009 and we were very surprised with his recovery. The surgery had nothing to do with our decision to change the coach. We built a project that goes from the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey until the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Moncho could stay with us until Olympics in London 2012 at tops and for that reason, we needed somebody who could stay with us from the beginning until the end of the project. Of course we want to win everything in the next six years, but we are going to work thinking in a long-term focus on the Olympic Games we are going to hold. It is everybody’s dream to win an Olympic medal in our home, with our fans. Our goal is to make this dream come true. Rubén Magnano is an excellent coach, with a very impressive record with the Argentina national team, compatible with our goal. He has the silver medal at 2002 FIBA World Championship and the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, which made him the perfect candidate for the job.

FIBA: Other than winning a silver medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship and a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, what about Ruben Magnano impresses you?

Carlos Nunes: Of course the results are very important, but the most important thing is the work philosophy that Magnano implanted during the five years he worked at the Argentinian Federation with the senior and youth categories. He is a very serious and competent professional.

FIBA: Brazil had a very difficult group at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and failed to progress beyond Group C in Hamamatsu. What are your thoughts about the recent draw in Turkey which placed Brazil in Group B with Team USA, Slovenia, Croatia, Iran and Tunisia?

Carlos Nunes: There is no weakest or strongest team in this group. The 2010 FIBA World Championship is a hard competition and all groups are very difficult. Our group is very good and we are going to have a great preparation to achieve the best result. Our first game will be against Iran and we have good chances of victory. It is very important to begin the World Championship with a positive result.

FIBA: How does hosting the Olympics help the basketball movement in Brazil?

Carlos Nunes: The Olympic Games in Brazil will represent an expressive investment for all sports, technical and structural. In our case, we are having results from the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women and 2007 Pan-American Games. The number of basketball players and fans increased in Brazil. I am sure that in the next few years, basketball will grow even more.

FIBA: The women’s team will play in the Czech Republic. Is winning a medal a real possibility? Can you see the day when Brazil can once again win a world title, as in 1994?

Carlos Nunes: Our goal is always to win. All preparations are made for winning titles. The World Championship is not different. Talent we have. And to do in Czech Republic what we achieved in Australia in 1994, we looked for foreign coaches for our national team to amplify our options. Our director Hortencia Marcari went to Europe to talk to a few coaches and we are going to have a name in a few days. It is important to remember that (coach) Paulo Bassul is still part of our plans.

FIBA: Since being elected president, what has been the biggest challenge that you have faced? Is this job harder than you expected?

Carlos Nunes: I took over the presidency of the CBB in a very important year, with important competitions for the senior and youth teams and we had the challenge to keep the administrative changes away from our team’s preparations. We achieved important results. We won the title of FIBA Americas Championship for Men in Puerto Rico and guaranteed our spot in Turkey. We held the women’s competition and ended with the title and the spot for Czech Republic. We also received a lot of compliments about the tournament organization, which has given us a lot more confidence and motivation to apply as host city for the FIBA America Olympic Qualifying in 2011. This year we have the World Championship and we will give all necessary support for both teams, men and women. We already started our preparation, searching for competent coaches to lead our teams to the title. We also have to win our spot in two more World Championships. This year, our under-18 teams will play the FIBA Americas Championship looking for a place between the 16 best teams in the world. But the main challenge is about to come. Our spot at 2012 Olympic Games in London is our goal. The men’s national team missed three Olympic Games and they cannot stay out of one more. We always find some obstacles in front of us, but this is normal. But when you have competent professionals like we do, there is no obstacle we cannot overcome.

FIBA