SPLIT (Croatia) - Father Time is rethinking his strategy in the battle with the Brazilian national team. Something mythical must be going on; there's no other way to explain the longevity of this squad.

Alex Garcia is 41. Anderson Varejao and Marcelinho Huertas are 38. Rafael Hettsheimeir is 35. Even Vitor Benite, who was the up and coming young hope not so long ago, even he is in his 30s.  There is no way you would say any of those numbers once you're up close, next to the Brazilian squad, just like we were during the Media Day in Split.

They are relaxed. They are calm. They are having fun and making jokes. They are looking like they are in their prime, ready to run a marathon or two if needed in that yellow shirt. But somewhere on the inside, they know that all of this gives up that other vibe, the one where you realize this is the last get-together of this unit. The last dance. Well, the last samba.

"Yeah, probably," Anderson Varejao said. "I can only talk about myself, I'm almost sure this would be my last one. I'm gonna enjoy it, I'm gonna have fun. And I'm gonna try and get Brazil to the Olympics in Tokyo."

"WE'RE IN A GOOD PLACE NOW, RESPECTED AND RECOGNIZED BY OTHER COUNTRIES." - Anderson Varejao

Even though he's just a few months younger, Lenovo Tenerife's point guard opted for a different answer.

"I don't know if it's going to be the last dance. I don't know. I still haven't made up my mind about the national team," Marcelinho Huertas explained.

And it's easy to see why. Marcelinho was just selected to the Mejor Quinteto in the Liga Endesa - that's the ideal starting five of the Spanish League, the strongest domestic league in all of Europe.

"I feel like I'm still in shape, I can bring something to our country. It depends on a lot of things," Huertas said. "But at the same time, we're trying to enjoy this tournament as much as we can. I still feel like I'm young inside, I'm hungry and still performing on a high level and I wanna keep doing this as much as I can." 

Having senators like Varejao and Huertas ready to commit their summers to the national team comes as the panacea for the poison for coach Aco Petrovic. Since day one, he preached about having a balance of youngsters and veterans in his teams, about turning the new page in the history books of the national team, while also bringing up new talent along the way.

"We must respect their desire to be here, to be a part of this tournament," Petrovic said. "They want to make it to the Olympics. Just by that, there was no question about them making the team or not. Of course, a certain sports form was required, with Marcelinho and Alex (Garcia), that wasn't a problem because they played entire seasons with Tenerife and Bauru respectively. But Varejao was questionable because he wasn't playing. However, for the last two months, he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, got in shape, booked his ticket to Split."

He does look in shape, and the bouncy hair is still there for the talismanic figure in the middle, just as it was for the past 20 years. Anderson made his debut back in 2001, then went on to win gold in the FIBA AmeriCup 2005 and 2009, with two more golds from the FIBA South American Championship and the Pan American Games.

"We had a lot of ups and downs during the 20 years that I've been with the national team," he said. "There were good times and sad times. We won a lot of things, but we also didn't qualify for a lot of the big events, the Olympics, which was hard on us, but I feel like we're in a good place right now, being recognized and respected by other countries, which is good. I just hope it will go on. I wish good luck to the generation that's coming."

So, what are the names that should be in our notepads, notebooks, Word documents or Excel sheets?

"You'll see in this tournament," Varejao laughed, while Marcelinho had an in-depth reply.

"There's a lot of guys that people already know, guys who have been around the NBA like (Bruno) Caboclo and (Cristiano) Felicio. We have guys like Georginho, Yago and even Leo Meindl who's coming in after a good season in Spain, Leo Demetrio, Caio Pacheco... Those guys can be really interesting in the future. We have a lot of talent, they just need a little more experience."

But perhaps the two biggest names among the rising stars are the two who sadly could not be with the team. Aco Petrovic will never use excuses, but you can feel that these two absentees hurt his ambitions in Split.

"I had a couple of setbacks, because my two most talented players are not here. Didi Louzada was asked to work on his game so he can secure his future with the New Orleans Pelicans, and Gui Santos is entering the 2021 NBA Draft. I am really sorry they aren't here, because I feel like those two players are a product of what I have been doing with Brazil over the past couple of years."

Looking objectively, this isn't the worst possible news. If the older guys  book a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics, Brazil can continue with their trend of being present at major events worldwide, which then serves as useful experience until the right moment comes, everything clicks together, and they become a medal contender. The young guns will be pushed, because Marcelinho Huertas doesn't feel like slowing down. Here's his piece of advice for the new guys:

"Never settle. Sometimes you reach the top of the level you're playing, you get to comfortable, you relax, and then it's hard to take the next step. Keep your mindset open, learn every day, be humble. Just be around people who are really willing to help you, to tell you the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts, but it's what you need in order to improve," the point god said.

He's going to be around, ready to advise the new generation, even if 2021 really turns out to be his last dance with the national team.

"I try to take care of my body as much as I can, I changed a little bit of my daily routine, especially the way I eat. This has transported to the court and my lifestyle as well, the way I feel, the way I recover. I mean, I'm feeling good, being 39. I don't feel I'm this old. I feel like I'm 28 to 30 again. As long as my body still holds up, I keep training, I keep my focus, maybe I can do this for five more years."

With a young Marcelinho, an eternal athlete in Alex, and a hungry Anderson, the ingredients seem to be there for coach Petrovic to do the damage. Maybe the fact that Petrovic is in his homeland, ready to attack his former national team, maybe even that helps Brazil reach the Olympics.

"Aco knows the Croatian team well, he coached them at the Olympics in Brazil," Varejao added. "This could be a good thing for us, but if we don't come out the right way, we're not gonna win."

FIBA