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Brazil no longer under pressure

Brazil were facing two defeats at the start of the tournament but they solved that by defeating favored Spain and they are now going into the remainder of the tournament filled with confidence

Brazil recovered from the defeat against Lithuania on time. The pressure was huge against Spain because they faced the second-best team in the tournament, and starting with two defeats would be horrible for the hosts. That is probably why they were very nervous and we watched a bad game. 

- This is an important win against favored opponents, we are not safe, but the pressure is not so big now. All players had a great attitude and we were determined to win. We are now filled with confidence and we want to keep winning - said point guard Huertas after the game. 

He was horrible against Lithuania, but he made up for it against Spain with 11 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Their second important player was center Lima who may not have been that impressive statistically (9 points and 10 rebounds), but he guarded Gasol great and that was the key to the win. 

We have said many times that Brazil will go far if they play good defense. They limited Spain to only 36% of shots and only 65 points which is impressive. Brazil look impressive led by the sold-out arena and filled with confidence and it will be hard for anyone to defeat them.

- I have to congratulate the team on great defense, we played great. We play great with the big support from the fans and we have to keep doing that - said selector Magnano.

Media and the players praised him for his rotations and the fact that he enables Brazil to play at a high pace throughout the game with a lot of scorers. 

Croatia do not have that, and the last game against Argentina was significant in many ways. We have seen two different faces of Croatia, but also Aco Petrovic's first mistake since he took over the team. He started the game against Argentina with Saric at position 5 too late, and during that time Scola 'schooled' Planinic and Bilan. That was the reason Argentina were in the lead by 20, and their comeback didn't start until Aco dropped the 5 and when Croatia started playing defense. 

Unfortunately, their comeback was unsuccessful because Simon missed a three pointer when they were down by 4 and everyone talked about that after the game. 

- I will now be the tragedian of the match, but who knows how it would have ended if that three pointer got in. We had a weak start of the game and they used it, and they are too good of a team to catch up with them. But the group is even and we are still close to out goal, which is the quarter-final. 

No one can blame Simon for anything because the shot sometimes goes in, but sometimes doesn't. The problem was Simon's overall shot of 3/12, but that will get better. What they definitely need to improve is nervousness, because they made 5 technical fouls against Argentina, and that is too much. Aco was also sent off. Interestingly, he also 'blamed' Simon. 

- I can get two technical fouls because I am putting pressure on the referees, but Simon cannot allow himself that. I am disappointed with the referees because the third quarter looked like Argentinian rugby and we couldn't do anything there.

Referees were bad, but Croatia still had this game, if only Aco gave up on forcing the game with the fives on time. Bilan and Planinic will have some room today because Brazil are strong in the paint and Aco pointed that out.

- They rotate four number fives the whole time and we will need a lot of energy to respond to their physical game. They have experience, they have depth with Huertas and we have to look out for that. 

Roko Ukic will be important in defense against Huertas, they faced each other many times, and the impression is that Roko knows him because he pointed out on many occasions that his passing is not as good as Huertas', but he does other things better. He probably meant defense and this is his chance to prove it. Croatia guarded Argentina's center badly, and Huertas is even better, so the question is will Croatia find the answer to that. 

If they impose their defense and they don't get nervous again, Petrovic's team will definitely have a chance. Brazil are a team that suit them much better, mostly because they are not that powerful offensively, and they don't play dirty. This will be a physical game, and it won't be beautiful because the stakes are so high. 

We said that the Brazilians can do as much as their defense allows them here. Offense-wise, they are a pretty modest team and that is especially important here. Croatia have played a brilliant team game this summer, like we saw in the matches with Greece, Italy and Spain, who got limited to 70 points. The only team they struggled with was Argentina, who play very fast and move extremely fast in offense, which Croatia struggle to defend. Brazil are opposite of that. They play with two centers and do not rush. Croatia have done a great job defending those kind of teams and they will do the same today. The only real danger is Huertas' pick game but I'm sure Aco and Ukic will find a solution for that. Brazil got limited well under this margin in all the serious games over the past two years (Lithuania 2 times, Spain, Venezuela 2 times). I expect something similar today. In a slow-pace game, I think Croatia have better chance and I wouldn't be surprised if they stun their opponents once again here. The Brazilian under is, however, still a safer option.