Eletrobrás Challenger Tournament

Brazil and China will play two warm-up friendly games on September 2nd and 3rd. The games will be played at the Ginásio Poliesportivo José Corrêa at 10 AM, same venue that will host groups C and D. Now why would I want to get up early on a Saturday or Sunday. That's just cruel. Both games will be televised by Sportv. Now that explains the early start.
Tom Maher is coaching China and reportedly they are making great strides. We'll see.

For more on the games and venue information, check the official press release.

Most Wanted List Released

FIBA has released the list of the 25 officials who will work in the World Championships. There are two Brazilians among them. Sérgio de Jesus Pacheco is going to work in his third WC's. Fátima Aparecida da Silva is a newcomer. She officiated some of my college games. Strangely enough, I don't think she ever t'd me up. Must be a first.

Here's the complete list.

Yo Out; 3 Added to USA Training Camp

USA Basketball has announced that three players were invited to train with the World Championship Team to compete for the final two spots on the 12-player squad that will report to training camp tomorrow. Guard Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix Mercury), Center Michelle Snow (Houston Comets) and Forward Candace Parker (University of Tennessee) will join the team in Durham, NC. Yolanda Griffith has withdrawn from the team. She is involved with the WNBA Finals and is not coming to Brazil. That leaves a big hole in the US frontcourt and tips the balance towards Parker and Snow. Even though the players invited will be practicing with the players already selected, a player participating in the Finals, *cough* Cheryl Ford *cough*, could be added, too. But who needs a backup PG anyway...USA Basketball deserves the benefit of the doubt though. It's not like Team USA has had any competition for the past 12 years. But then again, they did so with at least 2 pure PG's on their roster. More than that, they did so with legends running the point. We'll see how this PG by committee thing works for them.

Watch Out World

We should know that a pond isn't a Shark's natural habitat, so it's no wonder the Monarchs slaughtered them Jaws' style and advanced to the WNBA Finals for the second consecutive season. Which means Lisa Leslie, despite having an MVP year, is out of contention for the WNBA title. That also means she gets to join Team USA earlier than anticipated (by her, anyway). The unfulfillment of not getting her third ring should motivate her to play harder in the World Champs and that doesn't bode well for the world.
A motivated LL is probably the best player on Team USA, unstoppable, from elbow to toe.
That Shark is out for blood. Watch out world.

Sue and the Mask

"The Brazilian fans might be seeing a mask in their future".

I sure hope she isn't talking about the presidential elections in October...
The change of guards on Team USA is going to be interesting. For as long as I can remember, it has been either Teresa Edwards or Dawn Staley running the show. Now both have retired and Team USA will look weird, at least for this casual fan. I would have to think Sue will have no problems running the point because Anne Donovan will be there for her. If it were Van Chancellor, then I could see things getting a little rough for her. What is weird is that they didn't select any backup PG. We'll probably see a guard with good ballhandling skills running the point when Sue gets a break.
Talking about PG's, old ones, I can't believe we haven't found a new one for ourselves. Since Magic Paula retired, it's been Helen Luz. See, I like Helen, but she's no Magic Paula. That would be akin to saying that you like Chris Paul, but he's no Magic Johnson. Stupid, I know. The thing is, it gets worse. When Helen leaves, there's no backup PG. Adriana is not an option. The talent is there somewhere, in our corn fields, and nobody is plucking it. The youth programs are non-existent, the junior teams barely get playing time together, there's no exchange, no development. We have a great coach in Paulo Bassul. He knows how to work with young talent. He led Brazil in the 2003 Under 21 World Champs and we finished second only to a US team that had Alana Beard, Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Cappie Pondexter, just to name a few. It's insane to think nobody from that team has made it to the National Team. Paulo was an assistant coach with Barbosa. He quit because he couldn't stand to be working with someone whose basketball knowledge dates back to the 70's.
Well, I did warn you about the crankiness part...

The New Unis

They're still tight. They're still uncomfortable. They're still sl, er, see for yourself.

Iziane is Coming Back Home

The Seattle Storm have been eliminated by the Los Angeles Sharks, I mean, Sparks (old habits die hard), which means Iziane, as well as Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson, can join the national team and start preparing for the upcoming World Championships.
That's right, ladies, no rest for the weary. In the Sparks' case, no rest for the wicked.

See you soon, ladies. Bring some tanning lotion.

Native Talk Part 1

So, I believe one of the many difficulties players and staff in general will face here is the language barrier. English is just too diferent and Brazilians will usually try to speak some sort of English straight out of a Babelfish translation. If you speak any Spanish, and I mean anything, it's a way to start. We understand Spanish, even though the mixed result is the infamous Portuñol (ha, you thought you invented Spanglish).
Anyway, here's a few things you need to know while ordering food and beverage at local restaurants:

Well-done = Bem-passado.
Medium-rare = Ao ponto.
Rare = Mal-passado.
No ice = Sem gelo.
Coca-Cola = Coca-Cola
Entrée (UK version) = Entrada.
Main dish = Prato Principal
Dessert = Sobremesa.

Tip is usually 10% and it's added to your tab (most likely).

Trimming the Roster

With a little over two weeks until tipoff, it's time to cut down the roster and pick the 12 players who will represent Brazil in the FIBA World Championships in São Paulo. Three cuts were made in the last couple of days, so the roster is now down to 16 players. The latest victims of Barbosa's predictability were Jaqueline, Tayara and Graziane. So we basically cut two guards and one small forward. I agree with those cuts and I could see it coming from a mile away. Those players are projects.
I am worried about our aging frontcourt. The logjam at the 4 is eye-popping and quite unusual. Also, not necessarily a good thing as we don't want to challenge other post-heavy teams like the US and Russia if we don't have the outside game we used to have. I would be happy about having options at the frontcourt for a change if guard play weren't the decisive factor in international ball. A good zone will win you games. A pair of extraordinary guards will win you a World Championship title, but I digress.
We're still due for four more cuts. I have to believe we are cutting a couple of power forwards and another couple of guards (could be a couple of point guards, fingers crossed). And I have to pray Vivian is one of them. I can't go through another last second loss to freaking South Korea after beating Australia just because she wants to save a game that wasn't lost in the first place. I just can't. And I will be within shouting distance this time. But I really hope she's as far from the court as I will be.