Olympicbound U.S. tops Brazil, gains 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.
Vitor Benite led Brazil with 21, and wellknown NBA names Anderson Varejao and Leandro Barbosa each had 14.
TIP-INS
U.S.: The U.S. pushed its winning streak in major international tournaments — Olympics, World Cup and FIBA Americas — with NBA players to 58 straight games. … Walker, who missed the morning shootaround with an illness, was in the starting lineup. … The Olympic berth was clinched because automatic spots go to the top two World Cup finishers from the Americas region, and the U.S. and Argentina are the lone quarterfinalists out of that group. … Marcus Smart, who has twice battled leg issues this summer, limped to the bench in the fourth quarter in obvious discomfort. He was walking normally not long afterward.
TOKYO-BOUND
The U.S. men will be in the Olympics for the 19th time next summer, extending their record. The only Olympic basketball tournament that didn’t have the Americans was at Moscow in 1980, when the U.S. boycotted. The U.S. is 18 for 18 in earning medals — 15 gold, one silver and two bronze.
PETROVIC EJECTED
Brazil coach Aleksandar Petrovic was ejected in the second quarter after picking up his second technical foul. His first came midway through the first quarter after arguing a kickedball call, then waving his hand dismissively at a referee’s warning to calm down. The second came when Varejao had a clear lane to the basket, got cut off by Turner and no foul got called — so he went off, and was sent off.
UP NEXT
U.S.: Face France in quarterfinals Wednesday at Dongguan, China.
Brazil: Tournament complete.