US tops Brazil, gains World Cup quarters

SHENZHEN, China — The first mission for the U.S. is complete: The Americans are going to the Tokyo Olympics.

And now the World Cup quarterfinals await.

Kemba Walker and Myles Turner each scored 16 points, and the Americans earned a top seed for the quarterfinals by beating Brazil 8973 on Monday in the final secondround game of the tournament.

The U.S., bidding to become the first nation to win three consecutive World Cups, will face France on Wednesday — and won’t have to go through any extra qualifying tournament next summer for the Olympics.

“We’re thrilled that we’ve qualified for the Olympics,” said U.S. coach Gregg Popovich, who will lead the Americans in Tokyo next summer as well. “With this new situation in qualifying, you don’t want to do that every year. That’s a pretty big grind.”

It was a win three nations could celebrate: The U.S. victory not only resulted in an Olympic berth but also clinched an Olympic spot for Argentina and a quarterfinal spot for the Czech Republic. The Czechs moved on despite losing earlier Monday to NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece.

The Czech Republic grabbed the last place in the round of eight via a threeteam, pointsdifferential tiebreaker over Greece and Brazil after they all went 32 in group play.

“It’s already been a dream,” Czech guard Tomas Satoransky said.

Greece defeated the Czech Republic 8477 in Shenzhen, an outcome that meant the U.S. went into the Brazil game assured a spot in the quarters. All that was at stake was seeding and where it was going, either to nearby Dongguan by bus or back on a plane to Shanghai.

Get the bus ready. France, a 10098 loser to Australia on Monday, awaits the U.S. on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Other quarterfinal matchups: Spain vs. Poland and Serbia vs. Argentina on Tuesday, and Australia vs. the Czech Republic on Wednesday.

The only way to stay in the mix for gold now is to keep winning. That’s the approach the Americans — likening the World Cup feel to an NBA Finals feel — have carried throughout the tournament anyway.

“Pop talked about how this is June, this is June basketball,” U.S. guard Joe Harris said. “That’s what our mentality has got to be like.”

Jaylen Brown scored 11 and Harrison Barnes added 10 for the U.S. (50).