Nene Won't Play for Brazil at FIBA Worlds

Filed under: Nuggets, FIBA, NBA Injuries, FIBA World Championship

Denver Nuggets center Nene has been removed from Brazil's FIBA World Championship roster after being unable to overcome nagging leg injuries in tournament preparation, the team announced Saturday.



Luckily for Brazil, the team is built on its frontcourt depth, featuring Cavs big man Anderson Varejao and reigning Spanish league MVP Tiago Splitter. Varejao made the NBA's second-team All-Defense last season. Splitter is expected to play big minutes for the Spurs after leaving Europe.



Of course, Nene was such a big part of Brazil's frontcourt depth, and said frontcourt depth such a strength, that losing the Nugget certainly takes the burgeoning program down a notch. Brazil hasn't been competitive in international play in recent years, but won the FIBA Americas tournament last summer, beating out perennial Worlds contender Argentina, always feisty Puerto Rico and solid Canada. Team USA didn't play in the tournament because it had qualified for the 2010 Worlds through its 2008 Olympic gold.



Brazil is in Team USA's Group B in Turkey.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/08/21/nene-wont-play-for-brazil-at-fiba-worlds/