The Brazilian basketball team was defeated by Uruguay 71-57 in the opening match of the Copa América – Pre-Olympic tournament in Mexico. With four red-and-black athletes on the national team and coach José Neto as assistant coach, the team seeks to recover this Tuesday (01.09), at 20 pm (Brasília time), against the Dominican Republic, with live broadcast on SPORTV3.

"The ball just wouldn't drop. We tried our normal plays, but the ball wouldn't drop. Defensively, we played a very good first half. Now it's time to focus on the match against the Dominican Republic, learn from the lessons we learned today, such as improving defense, moving the ball more in attack, and always looking for the best player in a position to score," analyzed Marquinhos.

The forward, with 21 points, along with nine rebounds, two assists, and one rebound, was the game's top scorer. Flamengo center João Paulo Batista, with eight points and five rebounds, was also one of the national team's standouts. Flamengo players Olivinha (2 rebounds, 1 assist) and Rafael Luz (2 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds) also took the court and contributed to the national team.

"We had a few positives in today's game. One of them was when we defended well, playing in transition, and we opened up a five-point lead. The negatives were the many turnovers and offensive rebounds. Our performance at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth ended up being decisive in our defeat," said point guard Rafael Luz.

After tonight's match, the Brazilians will face Mexico (Wednesday, 22:30 pm) and Panama (Friday, 16:30 pm) in Group A.