After winning two matches and losing one in the first phase of the World Cup, Brazil makes its debut in the second phase this Friday at 10:30 (Brasília time). The opponent was Canada, and the match took place in Jakarta, Indonesia. Brazil and Canada are in group L along with Latvia and Spain.

Since the scores in the second phase are cumulative from the first phase, Canada and Spain share the lead in the group with three wins each against two from Brazil and Latvia.

Brazil and Latvia will face each other on Sunday to close out the group. Only the two teams with the best positions advance to the quarter-finals.

– Canada is a very strong team, one of the candidates for the title and in the first phase they showed their strength by winning all three matches very well. It will be a very complicated match, where we will have to work very well and make as few mistakes as possible. We go with confidence and believe in the strength of the group, even though we know they are favorites – said coach Gustavo De Conti.

No wonder. Canada has seven players playing in the NBA. The team’s biggest star is point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. At 25 years old, the Oklahoma City Thunder player leads the Canadian team in points, rebounds and assists average.

– I know Canada well, it’s a very talented team, full of NBA players, but we love these big games. We showed in friendly matches that we can compete with anyone, as we did against Australia, Serbia and Italy – said Bruno Caboclo.

As well as qualifying for the quarter-finals, Brazil is also seeking one of the Olympic spots at stake in the Basketball World Cup. For this to happen, the Canarians must be one of the two best-placed American teams in the World Cup.

Apart from Brazil and Canada, the following are still alive in the World Cup: United States, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Mexico and Venezuela are the representatives of the American continent who were eliminated in the first phase.