BRA - Neto: 'Every player dreams about this'

SAN SEBASTIAN (Olympics) - To take up the challenge of an Olympic Games is the dream of every professional athlete.

Raul Neto (Raulzinho), who just turned 20, is close to realizing his after being named in Brazil’s preliminary squad by coach Ruben Magnano.

"I am very happy,” Raulzinho said to FIBA.com.

"Every player dreams about this and for me, it’s no different.

"I hope to train well and do everything to play for Brazil at the Olympics."

The native of Belo Horizonte just finished his first season in European basketball with Spanish Liga Endesa side Lagun Aro GBC.

He played a lot of minutes for a San Sebastian side that made a surprising run to the post-season before falling to Valencia Basket in the quarter-finals.

While he played at the 2010 FIBA World Championship as a teenager, Neto did not compete for the Brazilians last year at the FIBA Americas Championship.

There is a mixture of joy, relief and pride that he is in the running for a place in the Olympic team.

"This call to play for Brazil is the result of work I've done all year and now I´ll be able to enjoy playing with the national team,” he said.

Learning from Huertas

When making his senior team debut in Turkey two summers ago, Neto played only eight minutes against Iran, scoring six points.  

He was one of the back-ups for the explosive Marcelinho Huertas of Barcelona.

To rub shoulders with a player like Huertas during the summer is something special for Neto, both as a player and on a human level.

"Marcelinho Huertas is a mirror, not just for me but for all guards in Brazil," Neto said.

"He's a hard worker, always training 100% and is very talented.

"In addition to a great player, he’s a great person."

Ruben Magnano

Brazil is under the command of Argentinian coach Ruben Magnano, a man who led his own country to the gold medal in Athens eight years ago.

Magnano called Raulzinho’s name for Turkey 2010 and he also had him in the preliminary squad for the FIBA Americas Championship in Mar del Plata last year but ultimately chose not to include him in the final squad.

"In Mar del Plata, I was in the pre-selection and was the penultimate cut,” Neto said.

“I hope this year to stay until the end."

For the 1.86m point guard, having a coach like Magnano allows him to learn something new every day and to improve as a player.

"I was with him, with the main national team and the under-18s," Neto said.

"He's a great coach and a great person.

"Magnano helped me a lot. I learned a lot and I hope to learn much more now."

FIBA