Standings and Friday's schedule at bottom of box

FIBA AMERICAS U-18 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MEN

SAN ANTONIO - Brazil began play Thursday with a 71-66 victory over Uruguay at the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship for Men at St. Mary's University's Greehey Arena.
Uruguay, which dropped to 0-2 in preliminary play, led 38-30 at halftime. But Brazil outscored its opponent 26-13 in the third quarter and took the lead 56-51. Uruguay, pulled to within one point, 67-66, on a bucket by forward Matias Correa with 1:13 remaining. Brazil's Paulo Prestes, a 6-foot-8 center, scored on a slam dunk and his team led by three, 69-66 with 33 seconds on the clock.
Brazilian guard Jose Duarte led all scorers with 19 points and guard Thomas Mellazo added 14. Prested rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
Uruguay was paced by guard Jayson Granger's 14 points and Correa added 12. Guard Juan Cambon scored 11 points and Emiliano Gonzalez, also a guard, contributed 10.
Brazil led in rebounds 37-24 and shot 47.1 percent to 39.1 percent, respectively.
The top two teams in each group advance to Saturday's medal round semifinals. The championship is slated for Sunday. The top four teams move on to the FIBA U-19 World Championships in July 2007 at Malaysia.
Brazil meets USA Friday in the final day of group play. Uruguay will play Saturday in a consolation semifinal but cannnot advance further.

FIBA AMERICAS U-18 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MEN
Thursday's Preliminary Round
at Greehey Arena, St. Mary's University
San Antonio, Texas

BRAZIL 71, URUGUAY 66

Brazil - Camara 0-0 0-0 0, Souza 3-5 0-0 7, Leichtweis 0-0 0-0 0, Silva 1-2 0-0 2, Paulo Prestes 4-5 2-4 10, Campos 2-4 4-6 9, Souza 0-0 1-2 1, Thomas Mellazo 5-9 1-4 14, Ferreira 2-4 0-2 5, Jose Duarte 5-16 5-7 19, Almeida 2-6 0-2 4. Totals - 24-51 13-27 71.

FG% - 47.1 percent
3-PT. FG% - 50.0 percent
FT % - 46.1 percent.

Uruguay - A. Gonzalez 3-10 1-1 8, Nathan 1-2 0-0 2, Yern 0-1 0-0 0, Matias Correa 4-8 0-0 12, Jayson Granger 5-18 4-5 14, Alvarez 0-2 2-2 2, Cavalli 0-1 0-0 0, Emiliano Gonzalez 4-8 0-2 10, Juan Cambon 5-8 0-0 11, Haller 3-6 1-2 7. Totals - 25-64 8-12 66.

FG% - 39.1%
3-PT. FG% -28.6%
FT% - 66.7%

TTotal fouls - Uruguay 23, Brazil 24. Fouled out - Uruguay: A. Gonzalez. Technicals - none.

Rebounds - Brazil 37 (Duarte 7), Uruguay 24 (Correa, Haller, 5 each).
Assists - Brazil 15 (Campos 8), Uruguay 15 (Granger 6).
Steals - Brazil 10 (Campos 5), Uruguay 11 (A. Gonzalez, Alvarez, E. Gonzalez, Cambon, with 2 each)
Blocked shots - Brazil 6 (Almeida 3), Uruguay 3 (Correa, Cambon, Haller)
Turnovers - Brazil 29, Uruguay 19.

Officials - Daniel Rodrigo, Trevor Perry, Frederick Brown.

Att. - N/A.

THURSDAY'S RESULTS
Canada 77, Bahamas 70
Argentina 79, Puerto Rico 77
Brazil 71, Uruguay 66

FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE
Times listed are Central

3 p.m. - Puerto Rico vs. Bahamas
5 p.m. - Argentina vs. Canada
7 p.m. - USA vs. Brazil

GROUP STANDINGS AFTER TWO DAYS
Group A
USA 1-0
Brazil 1-0
Uruguay 0-2 (eliminated from medal round)

Group B
Argentina 2-0
Canada 2-0
Puerto Rico 0-2
Bahamas 0-2

(the top two teams in each group advance to Saturday's medal semifinals).

#3 Post-game quotes

Thursday, June 29, 2006

GAME #3 (Brazil, 71 v. Uruguay, 66)

NAME: Jose Alves Santos Neto

POSITION: Head Coach, Brazil

QUOTE: “The anxiety of not playing yesterday was our biggest barrier of today’s game. The team started to get better as the game progressed onward.”

“The last three times that we met with Uruguay we got beat. So we have this anxiety built up and we need to beat them. It was a very important and decisive game because it was an elimination game, and it allows for one of the teams to move on to the next step.”

“The scrimmage against the United States was very important because it prepared us for the game today and gave the players confidence. We feel confident that we can face the United States tomorrow.”