BRA - Legend emphasises the need for maturity

SAO PAULO (FIBA World Championship For Women) – There was nobody breathing a bigger sigh of relief when Brazil nervously squeezed into the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women next year than the legendary Janeth Arcain.

Top scorer of the tournament in Germany during 1998 when she poured in over 20 points per game and a gold medal winner four years earlier, Arcain is as passionate as ever when it comes to both the competition itself and also talking about her beloved Brazil.

Favourites to land the FIBA Americas Championship for Women title in Xalapa, Brazil were unexpectedly stung by Cuba in the semi-finals and had to sweat uncomfortably on their place in Turkey by way of a tense bronze medal showdown against Puerto Rico.

Having lived on the edge of her nerves until Brazil’s status and rich tradition of participating at the FIBA World Championship for Women was assured, Arcain is now hoping head coach Luiz Augusto Zanon will have plenty of preparation time during the next 10 months or so in the lead up to the action in Ankara and Istanbul.

Aside from a few veterans such as Adriana Pinto, the Brazilian team which competed in Mexico during September was relatively young, with the Federation in Brazil eager to find the right blend and looking to build the capacity and experience of new players ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Fortunately, players such as Patricia Ribeiro and Tatiane Pacheco Nascimento showed they can produce on the big stage and there is absolutely no stopping the huge talent of 21-year-old Damiris Dantas.

Reflecting on the FIBA Americas Championship for Women , Arcain is astute enough to recognise that whilst the core of talent is in position, there is plenty of work to do if Brazil want to be competitive when they take to the floor in Turkey.

"The team still needs to acquire experience," she explained.

"It was a tournament that was technically different and I saw the teams of Brazil, Canada and Cuba all doing a good job of renewal and being able to now think about the FIBA World Championship for Women.

"Brazil will need to practice hard and arrange many more international games for these younger players.

"Some of the younger players also need to try to get to the basket more and will have to find the courage to be even more decisive."

Almost ever-presents, you have to go back a staggering 27 years to the last time Brazil even failed to post a winning record at the FIBA World Championship for Women – a fiercely proud record which the new breed of players will be eager to preserve and extend.

Arcain remains hugely supportive of the direction the senior team is being taken and is also playing a big role in trying to help the next generation of players emerge in her role as head coach of the youth teams, including the one which competed at the U19 FIBA World Championship for Women earlier this year.

Brazil are also hoping that the recent announcement of a sixteen team U21 development league structure underpinning the Liga de Basquete Feminino will help to them to stay near the centre of the women’s basketball map for a long time to come.

FIBA