Fighting Illini women’s basketball incoming freshman Manuella Alves has been selected for Brazil’s senior roster for the 2025 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup. The tournament is scheduled to take place from June 28 to July 6 in Santiago, Chile.
Alves, a 6-foot-3 forward from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, attended IMG Academy during her senior year of high school. She contributed to the Ascenders’ victory at the Chipotle Nationals Championship and was recognized as a four-star recruit, ranked No. 61 in ESPNW’s HoopGurlz listing.
Her international experience includes representing Brazil at several tournaments: the 2024 FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup, the 2023 South American U17 Women’s Championship, the 2023 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup, the 2022 FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup, the 2022 South American U18 Women’s Championship, and the 2021 FIBA U16 Women’s AmeriCup.
A total of twelve players have been called up for Brazil’s national team summer action. Training camp started on June 15 in São Paulo. Before heading to Chile on June 25, Brazil played a pre-tournament friendly against Canada on June 22. Alves is among four NCAA student-athletes included in this roster.
In this year’s competition, Brazil is placed in Group A with Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador. The team previously won the event in 2023.
After competing in Santiago, Alves will join Brazil’s U19 team for the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup held in Czech Republic from July 12 to July 20.
