By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Brazil is back in the Olympic Games. With five players scoring in double figures, the Brazilian basketball team not only beat but crushed host Latvia in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament of Riga to become get the ticket to Paris.
Bruno Caboclo scored a game-high 21 points for Brazil while Leo Meindl posted 20 points and nine rebounds, making a formidable duo for which Latvia had no answers.
Georginho De Paula added 14 points, evergreen Marcelinho Huertas provided 12 points plus seven assists and Gui Santos posted 12 points plus seven rebounds for a Brazilian national team that stormed into the game 34 – 11 thanks to 8 – 8 (!) triples. Aco Petrovic’s players simply never looked back despite seeing guard Yago Dos Santos getting injured in the second period.
Latvia closed that gap to go the locker room down 49 – 33 but was simply unable to counter Brazil well enough to stand a chance. The latttter established a lead beyond 20+ numbers after the break and absolutely cruised to victory.
Rihards Lomazs (15 points), Arturs Zagars (14 points) and Rolands Smits stood out from Latvia.