BRA/CRO – Brazil blow away Croatia to set up clash with Argentina

ISTANBUL (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Brazil thrashed Croatia 92-74 in the last Group B game of the FIBA World Championship to set up an Eight-Finals meeting with their South American rivals Argentina.
 
Anxious to bounce back after heart-breaking defeats to the United States and Slovenia, Ruben Magnano’s team took a 48-35 advantage to half-time and the delivered a knockout punch immediately after the restart with a 19-2 run for a 57-37 stranglehold.
 
The lead ballooned to 25 points before Brazil settled for an 18-point victory.
 
Brazil’s Leandro Barbosa had all 17 of his points in the opening three quarters, with Alex Garcia also scoring his 15 in the first half-hour.
 
Anderson Varejao was also a lively presence in his second game back from an ankle injury.
 
The power forward had 12 rebounds to go with his two points in the first three periods and like Barbosa and Alex, he stayed on the bench in the fourth.
 
Marcelo Machado finished as Brazil’s leading scorer with 18 points.
 
Marco Popovic poured in 15 points for Croatia, who must now face their bitter rivals, Group A winners Serbia.
 
Quotes:
 
Croatia head coach Josip Vrankovic: "We didn't play a good first half, we played too soft. We had a problem with defense. If you play like this against Brazil you will lose as was our case.

"We have to play stronger defense and play better basketball if we want to do something against Serbia. We know them very well because they come from the same area. They have good players, good transition so we must play a serious game. We have to play tough if we want to do something. It's going to be a physical game, for sure."
 
Brazil head coach Ruben Magnano: "I think the team played very focused as we had planned. We covered all the areas to make like difficult for their shooters. We suffered on offensive rebounds but in general, we did a great job on defense which allowed us to play good on offense. The major tournaments, like the World Championships and the Olympics, can be very cruel at times. I will have to play a little bit with my country but I have a sporting compromise and in my head the only thought is how Brazil can compete to go through to the next round. I just know the players, they are way too talented for them to believe that I will do a special scout on them. They have a lot of belief in themselves. It's very difficult to trick Argentina. Without a doubt, it's going to be a ‘clasico’ on our continent and whoever wins will go through and whoever loses will be wishing they hadn't."

FIBA