World Champs Day 1

Nothing could ever have prepared me for what was to come. If somebody had told me that I would face 100km of traffic jams to see Brazil almost lose to Argentina in "The Arena from Hades' while almost suffering a heart attack in the process, I wouldn't have gotten out of bed. Seriously. I really didn't need that. Brazil, Barbosa, everyone on the team didn't take Argentina seriously. They took them lightly. They took them for granted and if not for a series of questionable calls, they would've paid dearly for that mistake. But we have Arcain and they don't. Her soothing presence on the court led the way. I would kill Helen for trying a desperation 3 with 11 seconds left on the gameclock, but her putback was nothing short of amazing. Yeah, Helen, you can go ahead and thank God, but He's busy, you know? Can you pleaaaaase take a look at the shotclock next time?
Brazil started out the way it was supposed to, attacking the basket, getting in the paint. The first quarter was really a sign of things to come, at least I was thinking that. Then the crazy substitutions began, like a revolving door nonstop. Of course the team got in a funk and Argentina took advantage of our non-existent transition defense. They missed several layups, which is exactly why Brazil shouldn't have had a problem dominating the rebounds. And they really couldn't hold on to the ball. Fumbled passes, steals, missed shots, it was a freak show at one point. The couple of thousand fans at the arena all of a sudden went silent. I could see Hortencia shaking her head and muttering what's going on here...the Queen knows better.
I don't like Adriana at the point. There, I said it. She has terrible ball handling issues, she's too small and she takes ill advised shots more often than she finds teammates open and gets them the ball. It's not in her. We can run like crazy with her, but not when we're not grabbing any rebounds. That doesn't bode well. In the half court set, she can only dribble until the 5-second mark and then get rid of the ball. That's a trademark. Our inside game vanished in the second half. A series of NBA range 3-pointers followed and Argentina closed the gap. From then on, it's all a blur for me. I couldn't really understand what was going on. We blew them out 2 months ago. This is your homecourt, for heaven's sake. Defend it!
That's all that comes to mind right now. That and telling a bunch of Argentinian fans to sit down and stop complaining about the refs. That and getting angry at one of the roving vendors inside the arena. That and not having A/C when it's 40 degrees inside. That and the sound system. That and the botched anthem. That and creating my own parking space. That and preparing my stuff to go to the game this morning. That and escaping work to watch the game. You know what? I just want to forget it. Tomorrow is a new day and they won't play like that way again. I can only hope.

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