Chamber of Deputies honors 100 years of Brazilian basketball

With 100 years of history, the Brazilian basketball team collects a series of achievements that place the country among the great forces of the sport, with three world titles already won. This rich history led the House of Representatives, in today's semi-presencial solemn session, to pay tribute to the great male and female teams that have been to so many podiums.

Of the three World Cups won by Brazil, two were men's (1959, in Chile, and 1963, in Brazil) and one was women's (Australia, 1994). In 1954 and 1970, the men's team was runner-up. The country finished third in three editions, two of which were men's (1967 and 1978) and one was women's (1971).

In the Olympics, the Brazilian men's team has won three bronze medals, in London (1948), Rome (1960), and Japan (1964). The women's team won silver in Atlanta (1996) and bronze in Sydney (2000). The Brazilian men's and women's national teams have also collected a series of medals in the America, South American, and Pan American cups.

Pan of 87

For many, the most important title was the Pan-American 1987, in Indianapolis, when the men's team, led by the Brazilian idol Oscar Schmidt - the highest scorer in basketball history, with 49,737 points - defeated the United States in the final, on American soil.

Oscar participated in today's tribute in the House of Representatives. He remembered his first shots, made as a child in Brasília, when he dreamed of becoming a soccer player. "My dream was not to play basketball. It was, like all kids at the time, to play soccer. But I was called by a coach from the Neighborhood Club to try out basketball," said the former player.

Oscar recalled that, right at the beginning of his learning process, he heard one of the most important phrases of his life from his coach when he was learning shooting techniques. "My coach said: 'start right that one day you will hit many'. Thanks to him, I had a fairy-tale career.

Representing women's basketball, 1994 world champion Alessandra de Oliveira said she also had her life changed by basketball. "Being a high level athlete is important, but first of all being a good citizen. Basketball led me to this and took me to the world," she said.