FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2025 – Team Profile: Brazil | FIBA Basketball

MIAMI (United States) – Brazil heads into the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2025 aiming for its third back-to-back title run in history. The South American powerhouse previously accomplished the feat in 2001 and 2003, and again in 2009 and 2011.

Some things did not go as the team planned in 2024. At the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which Brazil hosted, the team delivered competitive performances against top-tier opponents like Australia, Serbia, and Germany but failed to come out with a win.

Later in the year, Brazil finished in sixth place at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Rwanda. The team also fell short in the South American Championship final, losing to rival Argentina, a team that has now defeated Brazil in two of the last three regional finals. Brazil had won 16 consecutive titles before that streak.

The runner-up finish secured Brazil a spot in the continental championship, but it’s worth noting that the team was without stars Kamilla Cardoso and Damiris Dantas for the last two events in 2024.

Brazil is currently ranked No. 10 in the FIBA Women’s World Ranking presented by Nike.

Tournament history

Brazil has participated in 17 of the 18 editions of the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup, missing only in 1995 when the tournament was held in Canada. The team leads all nations in total titles (six — 1997, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2023) and medals (14 overall).

Players to watch

Cardoso and Dantas will rejoin the national team for the 2025 edition. The CBB confirmed that both players, who play in the WNBA with the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever, respectively— will join the squad in Chile just days before the competition begins. This duo brings power in the paint on both ends of the floor.

Cardoso was named MVP of the 2023 AmeriCup after averaging 10.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 1 steal. Dantas led the team in scoring, putting up 13.9 points per game.

Emanuely De Oliveira has also emerged as a crucial offensive contributor. She averaged 8.3 points during the last AmeriCup but took on a larger scoring role at the World Cup Pre-Qualifiers and South American Championship, posting 17.7 and 16.3 points per game.

Other players who made solid contributions in the recent South American Championship and are now included in the team’s preliminary list are: Cacá Martins (7.2 points and a tournament-leading 7.8 assists), Izabela Nicoletti (9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists), and Licinara Rodrigues (8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds).

Head coach: Pokey Chatman

In effort to defend its AmeriCup title, the Brazilian Basketball Confederation (CBB) announced the hiring of experienced American coach Pokey Chatman, who has called up several young players to form the upcoming roster.

Chatman brings nine seasons of experience as a head coach in the WNBA with the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever, and is currently the assistant coach and associate general manager of the Seattle Storm. She also made her mark in the NCAA with Louisiana State University (LSU), leading the team to three consecutive Final Four appearances. Internationally, she won a EuroLeague Women’s title in 2010 as the Head Coach of Spartak Moscow and won two additional EuroLeague titles (2008, 2009) as an assistant coach with them.

Outlook

Brazil will compete in Group A, facing Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador (in that order). While the team is in a transitional phase under a new coach and integrating younger talent, the goal remains clear: defend the title.

This will not be an easy task for Brazil and will heavily depend on how quickly the returning stars— particularly Cardoso and Dantas, can adapt to the new system, especially given their limited training time with the team.

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