EPTBrazil didn't even have Nene.
Lebron (3-8 fg, 11 pts) and Wade (1-4, 5 pts) get out played by Barbosa and Garcia.
After two easy wins against Puerto Rico and China, the US was surprisingly forced to play come from behind. Brazil went on a 16-0 run to start the third quarter and turn a 52 – 38 deficit into a 56 - 52 lead. But the Americans rallied and pulled out the game the same way they won their other two through stifling defense.
Brazil’s Leandro Barbosa and Alex Garcia led their team with 14 points apiece, but Barbosa’s evening ended early when fouled out halfway through the third quarter.
But Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao was the emotional glue behind the Brazilian come back, pulling down 16 rebounds until a questionable double dribble call late in the game on Wellington Dos Santos enraged the emotional Varejao and earned him a technical foul which doomed his club.
“The same thing happened to their player and the referee did not call it but he called it on us,” Varejao said. “I tried to tell him it was not a foul, not a double dribble, I didn’t really say anything but he gave me a foul anyway.”
The play in question set up a bizarre sequence in the last two minutes where the US team, trailing by three points, were awarded five technical foul free three throws, with Hinrich making four, in the span of 30 seconds. The Chinese crowd, who cheered loudly during introductions for NBA stars like James and Dwayne Wade, booed vociferously at the referees bizarre calls.
But Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao was the emotional glue behind the Brazilian come back, pulling down 16 rebounds until a questionable double dribble call late in the game on Wellington Dos Santos enraged the emotional Varejao and earned him a technical foul which doomed his club.
“The same thing happened to their player and the referee did not call it but he called it on us,” Varejao said. “I tried to tell him it was not a foul, not a double dribble, I didn’t really say anything but he gave me a foul anyway.”
The play in question set up a bizarre sequence in the last two minutes where the US team, trailing by three points, were awarded five technical foul free three throws, with Hinrich making four, in the span of 30 seconds. The Chinese crowd, who cheered loudly during introductions for NBA stars like James and Dwayne Wade, booed vociferously at the referees bizarre calls.
box score
http://www.nba.com/usabasketball/usabrazil_060808.html
