BRAZIL leaned on a sizzling start to shoot down Latvia, 94-69, and earn one of four remaining tickets to the Paris Olympics.
The Brazilians went on a shooting spree right in the first quarter, hitting an unbelievable 8-of-8 from deep to take control of the winner take-all match before a stunned home crowd at Arena Riga.
Wingman Leo Meindl sparked the three-point party at the 9:21 mark as the South American country went off to an 8-0 start.
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But shortly after Latvia threatened at 15-11, the Brazilians went on a 19-0 rampage highlighted by six three-pointers, including a long floater by big man Bruno Caboclo to end the first 10 minutes of play ahead, 34-11.
There was nothing Latvia could do from there as Brazil celebrated at the buzzer its return to the Olympics since the 2016 edition in Rio De Janeiro, while avenging its 104-84 loss to the same team that led to its ouster in last year FIBA World Cup group phase in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Caboclo finished with a game-high 21 points, while Meindl added 20 and nine rebounds and was 4-of-9 from long range.
A three-time Olympic bronze medal winner, Brazil rallied in the second half to beat Gilas Pilipinas, 71-60, in the semifinals of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament to seal a finals duel against Latvia, a 72-59 winner over Cameroon in the other semis pairing.
Rihards Lomazs had a team-high 15 points and guard Arturs Zagars with 14 for Latvia, which suffered a huge 89-80 upset at the hands of the Philippines during the group stage.
Caboclo, named MVP of the Latvia tournament, also made it to the Mythical Team along with Meindl, Lomazs, Jeremiah Hill of Cameroon, and our very own Justin Brownlee.
“Can you imagine us being here with a ticket to Paris, and after twenty minutes against Cameroon, we were going home,” said Brazil coach Aleksandar Petrovic, referring to Brazil’s game against Cameroon in the group phase where it trailed by as many as 26 points in the first half.
Roller-coaster of emotions
“That roller coaster of emotions is something unbelievable. We grew up as persons and as a unit, and from then, everything was well prepared,” added the brother of the late NBA shooting guard Drazen Petrovic.
Latvia was the only home team which failed to earn a berth to the Paris Olympics as Greece, Spain, and Puerto Rico all advanced.
An emotional Giannis Antetokounmpo powered the Hellas to an 80-69 win over Croatia at the Peace and Friendship stadium in Piraeus, Greece for a return trip to the Olympiad after 16 years.
Antetokounmpo, the two-time NBA MVP of the Milwaukee Bucks, paced the Hellas with 23 points and eight rebounds to emerge as tournament MVP.
In Valencia, Spain, the home team defeated Bahamas, 86-78, to secure a seventh straight Olympic appearance since 2000. Veteran shooting guard Rudy Fernandez will be appearing in his sixth Olympic Games.
Puerto Rico is also Olympic-bound for the first time after 20 years following a 79-68 win over Lithuania.
NBA player Jose Alvarado was the MVP of the tournament after topscoring for Puerto Rico with 23 points.
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