07/07/2024 – 17:03
At the crucial moment, the Brazilian men’s basketball team found the consistency it had been looking for throughout the Pre-Olympic tournament. In the grand final, against the home team from Latvia in Riga, Brazil had an almost perfect performance, with a great performance from start to finish and winning 94 to 69. With the victory, the team led by Aleksandar Petrovic has qualified for the Paris Games.
The tone of the team during the first three duels was the same: falling behind on the scoreboard and having to fight back in the second half. In the big decision, Brazil reversed the trend script and had an impressive performance at the beginning of the game. The first ten minutes were a Brazilian recital.
Related news:
In addition to the intense defense that didn’t leave the home team comfortable at any point to shoot, Brazil had a literally perfect performance from the three-point line. They made eight shots in eight attempts, with varying degrees of difficulty. The exclamation point was the last of these eight, converted by Bruno Caboclo at the end of the shot clock before half-court.
Tissot says it’s Bruno Cabo’clock! 🤯🤯🤯#FIBAOQT x @basquetebrasil
📺 https://t.co/ranzibgpnf
💻 https://t.co/7XnyzSmcc1 pic.twitter.com/wGSBd62Rzf— FIBA (@FIBA) July 7, 2024
The second quarter saw a tentative comeback from Latvia, who went into the break trailing by 16 points (49 to 33). However, after the break, Brazil showed again that they were inspired, with an emphasis on defense. Suffocating their opponents, the advantage grew again until it ended at 26 points (72 to 46).
The last quarter, which promised to be tense, saw Brazil withstand the blows of Latvia, who increased the intensity and committed some hard fouls. The triumph and consequently the Olympic spot were never in danger. The team and the home fans gave up the points in the final minutes.
Brazil’s standouts were, once again, Bruno Caboclo (21 points), Léo Meindl (20 points and nine rebounds) and Georginho (14 points and five assists). Gui Santos, with 12 points, seven rebounds and an excellent defensive performance, also caught the eye.
Having qualified, Brazil will be placed in a difficult group at the Paris Olympics, with France, Germany (current world champion) and Japan. The debut will be against the home team, led by the phenomenon Victor Wembanyama, on July 27.
#Brazil #beats #Latvia #qualifies #Paris #basketball