After winning two matches and losing one in the first phase of the World Cup, Brazil begins the second phase this Friday at 10:30 a.m. (Brasilia time). The opponent is Canada and the match takes place in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Brazilians and Canadians are in Group L alongside Latvia and Spain.

As in the second phase the score is cumulative to the first, Canada and Spain share the head of the group with three victories each against two from Brazil and Latvia.

Brazilians and Latvians will face off on Sunday to close out the group. Only the two best-placed teams 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 there with confidence and believing in the strength of the group, even though we know that they are favorites – said coach Gustavo De Conti.

It’s not surprising. 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 average points, rebounds and assists.

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

In addition to qualifying for the quarterfinals, Brazil is also seeking one of the Olympic berths at stake at the Basketball World Cup. To achieve this, the Canarian team must be one of the two best-placed teams in the Americas at the World Cup.

Besides Brazil and Canada, the United States, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are still alive in the World Cup. Mexico and Venezuela were the representatives of the Americas who fell in the first phase.