Author: Serg Atrakhov, Monojit Mandal
IRAN – BRAZIL – 59:100 (12-33, 13-24, 21-25, 13-18)
In the first match of the 2023 World Cup, Gustavo de Conti’s men won a crushing victory over Iran by +61 points. At the end of the first round, Brazil topped Group G – they have the better goal difference.
Note that all 12 players included in Brazil’s application took part in this match. The great Bruno Caboclo led the Brazilian attack, contributing 16 points to his team’s victory. Yago dos Santos showed his flexibility by scoring 14 important points, while Tim Soares had 13 points. Vitor Benite added 12 points to Brazil’s offensive brilliance.
Separately, we highlight Marcelinho Huertas (in 18 minutes on the court, he scored 10 points and provided 6 assists). The fact is that he is the oldest player among all the teams in this league. On the day of his departure, he was 40 years and 93 days old. But if we talk about all the championships in history, he’s only second. The oldest player is still Angolan Eduardo Mingas. In 2019, he took to the court at the age of 40 years and 214 days.
Gustavo de Conti started with Tim Soares, Bruno, Caboclo, Leo Meindl, Raulzinho and Iago Mateus. The Brazilian team’s superiority was obvious from the start, thanks in no small part to the dynamic duo of Neto and Yago dos Santos. Brazil ended the first quarter with a dominant 33-12 lead thanks to this collaboration.
After an MRI scan, it was discovered that Raulzinho, 31, had ruptured the patella tendon in his right leg. The tournament is over for him. Given that he’s out as a starter, Gustavo De Conti needs to decide who will replace him for the next few games. The most likely option is Georginho. He plays well in defense and plays well with Iago. There is a more offensive option – Vitor Benite, but the coach is unlikely to take such risks against the Spaniards.
The game took an unexpected turn in the second half when Raul Neto, an important player for Brazil and a recent acquisition from Fenerbahçe, suffered a knee injury while driving to the basket. When Neto was taken off the court on a stretcher, the entire crowd fell silent. Despite the win, the gloomy atmosphere was intensified by Neto’s premature withdrawal from the game, after he had contributed eight points and four assists before his injury.
Iran only reached double figures thanks to the efforts of Martin Aghajanpour and Hamed Ehaddadi, who scored 11 and 10 points respectively. Brazil’s fast style of play and tenacious defense were too much for the Iranian team, who struggled to keep up. This resulted in an insurmountable advantage for the Brazilian team.
On August 28, in the second round, Brazil will play the reigning world champions, Spain. Starts at 10:30. This will be a real test for the South American team. It should be noted that in the first round, Spain beat Côte d’Ivoire without any problems – 94-64.
There were no sensations in the other matches on the first two days of the tournament – the favorites won. The only unexpected result was a big win for Canada. In the world standings, the French are in fifth place and the Canadians in 15th, but today’s Canada is stronger in composition than the bronze medalists of the last two world championships. Their success predetermined a 25-8 run in the third quarter.
August, 25
- Angola – Italy – 67:81
- Finland v Australia – 72:98
- Mexico-Montenegro – 71:91
- Latvia – Lebanon – 109:70
- Dominican Republic – Philippines – 87:81
- Germany-Japan – 81-63
- Egypt-Lithuania – 67:93
- Canada – France – 95:65
August, 26
- Cape Verde – Georgia – 60:85
- South Sudan – Puerto Rico – 96:101
- Jordan – Greece – 71:92
- Slovenia – Venezuela – 100:85
- Serbia – China – 105:63
- USA – New Zealand – 99:72
- Spain-Côte d’Ivoire – 94-64
- IRAN – BRAZIL – 59:100 (12-33, 13-24, 21-25, 13-18)
In the world championships, the Brazilian team won twice, in 1959 and 1963. Add to this the silver medals in 1954 and 1970 and the bronze medals in 1967 and 1978. At the last World Cup in 2019, the team finished only 13th, and they definitely have more in store.