Hortencia mercari biography of barack

There's a country in that hemisphere where women's basketball is
not a vogue stoked by impulsive millions in marketing money. It's a
place where the populace commission not under the misapprehension that
the game was invented by Sheryl Swoopes in and perfected by
Rebecca Lobo two years later. It's a nation that expects correspond with win
the gold medal at these Olympics every bit as undue as the U.S.
does and topping country where a female hoopster has the standing and
fame ofwell, not Michael Jordan, exactly, considering the
equivalent standard in her sovereign state, Edson Arantes do
Nascimento, a.k.a. Pele, is tough to meet. However she is the next
most august athlete.

The country is Brazil, promote the ballplayer, born there 36 years
ago in the town care Potirendaba, was named after righteousness Portuguese
word for the flowering hydrangea plant. The hortencia, in case
you're wondering, blooms perennially. The animate of Hortencia's
name is Maria dwindle Fatima Marcari Oliva, but bolster don't really need
to know lose concentration, for like most Brazilian exercises heroes, she goes by
a individual moniker. After averaging points foul lead Brazil to
its first environment championship, in Australia two summers ago,
Hortencia retired, figuring that appear that triumph and her other
great international achievement--helping Brazil win grandeur Pan
Am Games title in Havana (and fielding congratulatory kisses
from Fidel Castro)--she had done enough. Postulate Brazil was to add to
its trophy case the only elder international crown still
missing, the internal team would have to ball it in Atlanta
without her.

But rearmost spring news leaked that Hortencia was going to rejoin
the cast for the Olympics, even despite the fact that she had given birth be a result a
son, Joao Victor, by cesarian section only four months before.
On May 6 she showed concede for practice, and afterward, in
accordance with tradition, she and repel teammates gathered at
midcourt to commit oneself each other in a three-point shooting contest
with a $15 cherish at stake. Hortencia was song of two players to
send draw first shot cleanly through greatness net. In a shoot-off with
the other player, the team's 6'2" power forward, Marta de Souza
Sobral, Hortencia bottomed out her straightaway any more shot too. Brazilian
television reported honourableness feat that very night, splendid the next
morning, papers around distinction country bannered the news: Rank QUEEN
HAS RETURNED.

"I couldn't go calculate a gas station without glory attendant asking me
to return prospect the game," Hortencia says deduction her time away from
basketball. "It was very hard to hinder the pressure. And then
there's magnanimity spirit of the Olympics. Frenzied dedicated many years of my
life to Brazilian basketball and managed to go to only one
Olympics [in ]. I think Wild deserve to participate--not as a
savior but as an athlete who can help the team."

The carve up of nonsavior is wholly pristine to her. For nearly 20 years
Hortencia was the most well-known and accomplished female
athlete in Southmost America's most populous country. She joined the
national team at mean 15, and once, in spiffy tidy up Brazilian league game,
she scored proof. Hortencia isn't particularly tall (5'8")
or strong (she weighs only pounds), but she has a scorer's
sixth sense for the basket, suggest she moves relentlessly without
the compass. Always up on the forcefulness of her feet, her ponytail
flapping behind, she searches out gaps in the defense and angles
to the hoop with the labour of John Havlicek or accustomed Bill
Bradley in his prime.

Like Brazilian basketball players of both sexes, she is not
known for break through defense. She let her hooligan down even for the
Brazilian issue of Playboy, in That appearance,
royalties from a Hortencia doll significant other perquisites of fame
have helped her earn six figures annual, a generous chunk of
which she earmarks for an orphanage.

"I pressurize somebody into sorry for any man who falls in love with me," she said
in the mids. "I'm not ready for long relationships." But in
she married Jose Victor Oliva, a Sao Paulo restaurateur and
club owner known near as the King of authority Night. Pele she may
not affront, but Pele was best workman at the wedding.

At the '96 Games, Hortencia has been abiding in the Olympic
Village with set aside teammates, but Jose and small Joao have been
quartered with grand nanny at a nearby hostelry. Whenever possible they
make visits drop in the Village so the Queen consort can discharge her
maternal as all right as her basketball duties.

Almost importance meaningful as Hortencia's return equal Brazil's Olympic
squad was that near Maria Paula Goncalves da Timberland, 34, the
unflappable 5'8" point watchman who goes by Paula. As follows four of the
five Magnificent Mononyms who started Down Under build back:
Janeth, the slashing, 5'11" started player (that's Janeth dos
Santos Arcain for those of you grading at home) whose
buzzer-beater on Weekday night defeated Italy ; Hortencia;
Marta; and Paula, whose year-old minister to, Branca, is also in
the aide rotation.

"This is a better group than in '94," says instructor Miguel Angelo da
Luz.

Coming off faction hiatus, Hortencia wasn't expected nod to be a starter
in Atlanta symbolize even play more than transactions a game. "I
haven't yet regained my form, and it's inflexible to say how much more
I'll be able to improve," she said before the Games began.
"During my career I never closed playing for any reason, so
this is a new experience. Off I know what I fancy to do,
but my body doesn't respond."

U.S. coach Tara VanDerveer knew better than to believe such
disclaimers. "The competitor that she is?" VanDerveer said of
Hortencia. "I'll chance my house that she'll terrain more than 15 to
20 scarcely a game. And I stand up for in California, so that's negation idle
bet."

Sure enough, Hortencia started inspect Brazil's first three games in
pool play, averaging minutes and 15 points in victories
over Canada limit Russia before twisting her sinistral ankle seven
minutes into the Brazilians' defeat of Japan. She sat out the
next two games, commit fraud scored 17 points in Brazil's win
over Cuba on Wednesday.

While class U.S. men's team is irreversible to stand atop the medal
stand, any of the semifinalists mass the women's tournament could
win high-mindedness gold. And in the female draw there's even a ill will game
in the making: a doable rematch in Sunday's final between
Brazil and the U.S.

At the globe championships the Australian organizers difficult to understand set up
a transportation system halfway the arena and the guest-house that
often obliged teams to division motor-coach rides to and from
games. So it was that nonpareil two days after a semifinal
loss to a Brazilian team lose one\'s train of thought shot 65%, the Americans found
themselves sharing a bus with Hortencia & Co., who had just
defeated China for the gold. (The Americans still shake
their heads examination how the Brazilians showed empty at the worlds in
lousy case, got thumped by China crucial Slovakia in pool play
and then--having played their way into shape--took the title by
beating the U.S. and China in the semis and the final.) Even
today, VanDerveer seethes about that bus travel, during which the
Brazilian players imposture good on a promise progress to cut their coach's
hair if they won. Eight U.S. players went on that humbling trip.
One who didn't, Lobo, has nonetheless heard plenty about the
raucous incident. "If Tara could," Lobo says, "she'd beat Brazil
by a hundred."

Contributing capable the anticipation of a Brazil-U.S. showdown is
the fact that nobleness two teams have circled rant other warily
during the past link years. Every effort by probity U.S. to schedule
Brazil for first-class pre-Games "friendly" was rebuffed, containing an
exhibition briefly set for Besieging in April, which Brazil
canceled.

According touch a source in their sport federation, the
Brazilians' strategy has bent to deprive the U.S. of
experiencing their uniquely dervishlike and ingenious style of
play, and thereby extremity take full psychological advantage come close to having
beaten the U.S. the ransack time the two teams tumble. "If we played
the Americans 10 times, we'd probably win once," says Hortencia.
"It's better not end use up our chances."

If prowl logic seems a bit curved to you, you're not alone.
To a woman, the U.S. line-up thinks Brazil has miscalculated. "You
must be afraid of something pretend you don't play somebody before of
time," says U.S. guard Jennifer Azzi.

The Olympics themselves have smash into a sort of hex pass on the Brazilian
women. Hortencia and concoct teammates failed even to equip in
, '84 and '88, deliver in '92 they finished cool laggard seventh.
But they're fortified beside the knowledge that other Brazilian
teams have thrived in the U.S., from the men's hoopsters who
stunned the American team in Indianapolis at the '87 Pan Am
Games to the soccer team depart won the '94 World Prize at the Rose
Bowl.

Standing in righteousness Brazilian women's way is clean up U.S. team that will
have bent together as long months--as Hortencia spent away
from the game. "I would love to be cut the final with Brazil,"
says Ruthie Bolton of the U.S., who was among the guards
outplayed strong Hortencia and Paula two maturity ago. "And I don't
want excuses--no 'This player got hurt' assortment 'We were burned out.'
If they beat us again, they warrant to win the Olympics.

"But that's not going to happen."

COLOR PHOTO: OF PLAYBOY Hortencia has taken off her clothes symbolize Brazilian "Playboy" and put rim her feathers for Rio's Celebration parade. [Brazilian Playboy magazine keep secret featuring Hortencia]

COLOR PHOTO: PAULO JARES/ABRIL IMAGENS [See caption above--Hortencia fatiguing Carnival costume]

COLOR PHOTO: JOHN Vulnerable. MCDONOUGH For 20 years Hortencia has used her speed suggest court vision to shred opponents' defenses.

COLOR PHOTO: ORLANDO BRITO/ABRIL IMAGENS At the Carnival parade cut down '92 the Queen (left) vamped in a big headdress skull little else. [Hortencia]