By Alice Barbosa, reporter and Árbitros NBA CEO
Andreia Regina Silva will be in the final of women’s basketball at the Tokyo Olympic Games. The match between the United States and Japan will be this Saturday, the 7th – refereeing trio: Manuel Mazzoni, from Italy; Andreia; and Maripier Malo, from Canada. Maripier, or MP, as she is known, like the Brazilian, is a debutant in the Olympics.
Brazil was also represented in the men’s basketball final, between France and the United States, played on Friday night (06), and won by the US team by 87-82. Guilherme Locatelli was the crew chief of the refereeing team.
Andreia and Manuel Mazzoni together refereed the quarter-final match between Spain and France, won by the French team, with a difference of just three points (64 to 67). The Final game will be Andreia’s eighth one in Tokyo.
She was on the court in five games of the regular group stage. She also participated in the quarter-final between Spain and France, and finally, in the semifinals phase, between the United States and Serbia.
Andreia Regina Silva told LNB (Brazilian National Basketball League) website how she saw her call for the event.
“It was already a pleasant surprise to be on the Club World Cup team as the fourth referee in a World FIBA call-up. Now, the call for the Olympics was something I wasn’t expecting, although I was in 2020 as a standby referee. But even so, when I saw this new call-up and that I would be among the 30 referees listed to work in Tokyo, I can’t believe it; 22 years of dedication, tears, and joy. It has been 22 years living in São Paulo, far from my family and pursuing a dream that has arrived.”
Photo credit: Databasket.