By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Brazil didn’t have any problems beating Iran 100-59 in the 2023 World Cup opener. The win, though, takes the back seat since the Brazilian side seemed to have suffered a serious blow with Raul Neto.
Neto hurt his knee after a drive to the basket two minutes into the second half. He had to leave the floor on a stretcher while his teammates looked visibly shocked by the injury. The new Fenerbahce player finished the match with eight points and four assists, with perfect shooting for a PIR of 18.
Bruno Caboclo led the winning side with 16 points. Yago dos Santos added 14, while Tim Soares contributed 13, and Vitor Benite scored 12 points. Marcelinho Huertas also reached double digits with 10 points and six assists.
For Iran, only Martin Aghajanpour and Hamed Ehaddadi finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.
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Brazil had been dominant from the very start of the game thanks to the duo of Neto and Yago dos Santos to close the first period 33-12 and never looke back. Their fast-paced type of basketball couldn’t be stopped by the Iranian side that just managed to have a balanced output with Brazil in the third quarter following Neto’s exit.
😥 Fenerbahçe Beko’nun yeni transferi Raul Neto’nun sedyeyle sahayı terk etmesine sebep olan sakatlığın yaşandığı pozisyon 👇#FIBAWC | #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/AhqfTBiv42
— Eurohoops Türkiye (@EurohoopsTR) August 26, 2023
Brazil will face Spain in Round Two in Jakarta, while Iran will meet Ivory Coast on August 28th.
Photo: fiba.basketball