Ruy de Freitas began his basketball career as a member of the Brazilian YMCA’s amateur team in the 1930s. He soon joined the national squad and made his first major international appearance at the 1939 South American Championships, which was won by his home nation. He placed third, fifth, and third respectively at the next three editions of the tournament and then appeared at the 1945 Championship (Brazil did not participate in 1943 and the event was not held in 1944), which was again won by Brazil. The nation was the runner-up in 1947, the next time it was held, and, as there was no World Championship in basketball, Brazil was entered into the 1948 Summer Olympic tournament on the strength of their placement at the last two South American Championships. They did not disappoint, emerging undefeated in five games in their round robin pool. In the quarter-finals they defeated Czechoslovakia, but were bested by eventual silver-medalists France in the semi-finals. This sent them to a bronze medal match against Mexico, which they won 52-47 to earn the final podium spot of the competition.
When the FIBA World Championships began in 1950, de Freitas and Brazil were there, but did not manage to leave with a medal, finishing fourth. His final international appearance was the 1952 Summer Olympics, where Brazil survived to the second round of competition by winning against Canada and the Philippines, but lost to Argentina. In the second round, Brazil was defeated by the United States and the Soviet Union, the eventual gold and silver medal-winners respectively, and was eliminated from the finals, finishing sixth. Retiring soon after, de Freitas returned to the men’s national team in 1955 and coached eight games, including the squad’s third-place finish at the 1955 South American Championships. During the course of his career, he played for América and Associação Atlética Grajaú before ending with Riachuelo. He then worked for Caixa Econômica Federal, a Brazilian bank, until his retirement.
Brazil