BRA - Monsalve handed reins to Brazil men

RIO DE JANEIRO (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) - Brazil have appointed veteran coach Juan Manuel “Moncho” Monsalve Fernandez as their new national team boss.

Monsalve, a 63-year-old Spaniard, has replaced Aluisio Ferreira, who parted with Brazil after their bronze-medal win at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas.

"Monsalve is a qualified coach with international knowledge," CBB president Gerasime Grego Bozikis said in a statement on the Brazilian federation's official website.

"He understands very well the style of our players and he belongs to the Technical Office of the Spanish Federation, the current world champions.

"He has only one objective: to qualify Brazil for the Olympic Games. Then, when we reach Beijing, we are going to look for a medal."

Brazil has a huge tradition in basketball but their men have been overtaken by South American rivals Argentina, who won gold at the Athens Games and before that, silver at the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

Under Ferreira, Brazil played at the 2006 FIBA World Championship but failed to progress from the most difficult group at the tournament in Hamamatsu after falling to Greece, Australia, Turkey and Lithuania.

Nevertheless, Monsalve, who was a member's of Spain's national team as a player, inherits a very talented roster that includes NBA-based stars like Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa, Cleveland big man Anderson Varejao and Denver Nuggets center Nene, whose status is uncertain following a recent operation to remove a tumor from a testicle.

There are also leading Brazilian players in Europe and in Brazil.

After losing their semi-final to Argentina in Las Vegas at the FIBA Americas Championship, Brazil claimed a place in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament that will be staged in Athens in July.

The draw for the event will be on January 31 in Athens.

Three places for the Beijing Games will be up for grabs in Greece and while Monsalve believes his team has a chance to reach Beijing, he knows the competition, especially from the European teams, will be extremely tough.

"Greece, Croatia, Slovenia and Germany will be the stronger rivals because of their quality and experience in international competitions," he said in the statement.

"Monsalve is a disciplined coach, with a good judgement and has a lot of knowledge about European basketball," said Brazil star Marcelinho Machado.

"I worked with him at Lobos Cantabria in the 2003-04 season.

"He is a coach who is very open with the players and he has a lot of experience."

FIBA