BRA - CBB give women’s NT reins to Tarallo

RIO DE JANEIRO (Olympics) - Former youth team boss Luiz Cláudio Tarallo will coach Brazil at next year's Olympics in London.

The 45-year-old has been selected by the basketball confederation (CBB) as the replacement for Enio Vecchi, who was not kept in the job despite leading Brazil to the gold medal at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Women in Colombia.

Vecchi, who had replaced Carlos Colinas at the helm, discovered this week that his contract would not be renewed.

Tarallo led Brazil to a bronze medal at this year's FIBA U19 World Championship in Chile and has been in the national team set-up since 2005, when he coached Brazil at the South American Cadets Championship in Venezuela.

His familiarity with Brazil’s emerging players was a strong consideration in his appointment to the senior team post.

"Firstly, I would like to say thanks for the opportunity and to the leaders of the CBB for the trust they are placing in me and my work," Tarallo said.

"It's certainly a great challenge and an honor to work on developing a national team.

"I'm happy with the fact that I am at the head of the team, but much more for this project to be developed which is a continuation of the groundwork.

"I have the support of the players, managers and everyone involved with Brazilian basketball to conduct this work."

Hortência Marcari, the Brazil basketball great who now serves as the head of the CBB women's national teams, said: "Within this realignment, the CBB decided to bet on Tarallo, who is a coach who has experience in three world youth tournaments, has been assistant to the senior team and knows our line of work.

"Within this work with the foundation, he knows the new players who are emerging internationally and can help in the development cycle by 2016 (when Brazil host the Olympics).

"We are very grateful for the work done by Enio, but we had many meetings that led us to do a realignment to the cycle until 2016."

"We trust 100% Tarallo, who now assumes the command with the goal of becoming among the world's best in London and in 2016," said the CBB president Carlos Nunes.

FIBA