Quotes of the day: Quarter-Finals

FRANCE vs AUSTRALIA

"It was a very close game against France, especially in the first half. The french defese got some pressure on us, very intense. But at some point in the two last quarters we managed to control the game and that was useful for us. I could put some young players on court to play, so they can feel this worl championship's atmosphere. They will be important for tomorrow's match, for I can't play with only five or six players the whole tournament. Brazil is play beautifully and has the support of a noisy crowd. We'll probably have to get four or five players of ours to make double figure points to win Brazil. And they have three outstanding players "Janeth, Alessandra and Iziane. I hope their big game was today, against Czech Republic." (Jan Stirling, Australian coach)

"We didn't see Brazil play Czech Republic because we were very focused on our match against France. We came in to play hard and France's defense got some pressure on us, but we found our way, particularly in the second half. Tomorrow, in our second game with Brazil, will be definitely different from the first one. Brazilian team is now very confident with this victory against Czech Republic. And the gym will probably be packed and the crowd will be roaring, a must see game." (Kristi Harrower, Australian guard)

"It was no surprise this result today; Australia has a powerful team, one of the best in the world. They dominated the whole game. Now we have the Czech team again, it'll be very hard for us, we don't have much time to put the team fit again, it was a hard game today." (Alain Jardel, French coach)

"We're very sad with this result, of course, but Australia is an excellent team, very hard to beat. Now we'll fight hard to get the fifth place of this competition, that would mean a lot for us. (Le Drean, French player) mean a lot for us." (Le Drean, French player)


BRAZIL vs CZECH REPUBLIC

"I'd like to congratulate the Brazilian team for this brilliant victory. Brazil was superior in everything and we've played very bad today. Anyway, Brazil deserves to be among the four best teams of the world. The second quarter made the difference in the final score. We didn't lose concentration, was the Brazilian team that did not let us play. I wish luck to Brazil, that will be in the final if continues to play like this. And the huge crowd that was here today was the sixth Brazilian player in court. Every time we lost a ball or missed a throw, they cheered loud and that affect our players." (Lubor Blazec, Czech's assistant coach)

"I agree with Lubor, the Brazilian team was almost perfect today, basically we couldn't catch up. And the atmosphere in the gymnasium was awesome, almost frightening. (Mokrosova, Czech's forward)

"It was a excellent exhibition of my team today, I'm very proud of my players. In my opinion, we've played bad only once in this tournament and it was against Argentina, in the first phase. Here today, we're very aggressive in defense, which certainly got the Czech team nervous. Now we're more confident about our chances and will go for it in the next game. If it's Australia, it'll be a close game again, as it was in the first one last week. We can lose or win. But we're prepared to win this world championship. We're not satisfied yet, we want the title." (Antonio Carlos Barbosa, Brazilian coach)

"It was a nice party today, I loved to see the gymnasium packed with such a happy crowd. I'm from Rio de Janeiro and I like that. We were very concentrated in the game and didn't let them play. I'm ok with my ankle now and tomorrow I'll be even more confident to help Brazil win the match." (Erika, Brazilian center)

"We did a great job today, we wanted to win so bad and that's good for the team spirit. We knew that if we got in court like that since the beginning, we would not give Czech Republic any chance in the game. Now, it doesn't matter who will be our opponent, we got to be better than them and win, to get to the final match." (Iziane, Brazilian's forward)


SPAIN vs RUSSIA

"I want to congratulate the Russian team, that played so well today. And my team also, they did an outstanding match. Everyone fought hard. My players were good in defense, but the Russian team is really tall and we had a lot of trouble to avoid their offensive plays. Nothing to complain about the referees, Russia won because played better than us. Referee's decisions can change one or another thing in the match, but does not decide a game." (Domingo Diaz, Spanish coach)

"Russia played really well and used perfectly their tall players. They are used to these kinds of matches, and that was an advantage for them. Even in the worst moments of the game, when we were winning, they did not lose control. We gave it all, but unfortunately couldn't keep the pace with them." (Martinez, Spanish guard)

"This was a typical world championship game, nobody wanted to lose. It was a hard match, as it should be. The beginning was very tough for us, Spain came in fighting hard, and we made some offensive mistakes, especially with our three points throws." (Igor Grudin, Russian coach)

"It was a hard match, since the first minute. And now, in the semifinal, it won't be different, especially if we face United States again, as we did in the first phase. But as a semifinal game, everything can happen. We gave all today in court and will give again tomorrow. I'm certain that our coach will think of something different so we can beat the Americans now." (Shchegoleva, Russian forward)


CANADA vs CHINA

"We were disappointed we didnt make to the top 8, so we were very motivated to come out and play. We focused on our game and I`m happy that we won this match. Argentina is a good team, we know them pretty well. It`s always a good battle". (Nicole Johnson, forward – Canada) 

" Our goal was to play well, and I think we did it throughout the championship. We had a day off and we prepared really well for this game, watched videos and everything. I think we just played for each other, for the pride. And indeed we are proud of just being here after so many years. Now we face Argentina, which is a great team. We played them during America`s qualifier and this could be a good rematch. We always enjoy playing them, they are aggressive and athletic. It should be a tough game". (Allison McNeill, head coach – Canada) 

" I am very disappointed. Canada played with the heart, they really play for each other. And we were just hoping that Canada wouldn`t play, that they would give us the game. We didn`t get as many rebounds as we could. Only if the ball came to us, but than it`s not really a rebound. I think first quarter set up the game. About our next game, I think Cuba is probably disappointed after loosing to Argentina. We played them a few days ago and I think that if we can bring some character to the table we can get a good result". (Tom Maher, head coach – China)


Quotes collected by Flávia Tavares