Bruno Caboclo leads Brazil past Team USA / News - Basketnews.com

Bruno Caboclo scored 24 points, leading Brazil to a 94-79 win against Team USA.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Aided by the return of their best player in these 2023 FIBA World Cup Americas Qualifiers, Brazil (6-3) notched a crucial 94-79 (30-21, 28-13, 17-21, 19-24) victoryagainst Team USA (7-2) Friday afternoon at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.

After being absent during the last window and the 2022 AmeriCup, big man Bruno Caboclo returned in dramatic fashion, dropping 24 points and guiding his country to a victory that gets them much, much closer to next year's tournament in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan.

The 27-year-old shot 9/13 from the field, including 3/5 from beyond the arc, and added 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in just under 27 minutes of play.

Caboclo scored 15 in the first half, where Brazil shot over 61 percent from the field, opening a 20-point lead that would prove to be more than sufficient to walk away with the win.

The presence of the Capitanes de Ciudad de México power forward allowed head coach Gustavo Conti to optimize his rotations, roles, and usage.

Caboclo came off the bench behind the big man duo of Cristiano Felicio and Leandro Meindl, who set the tone early on the defensive end. And with Marcelinho Huertas running the show, Brazil became an offensive juggernaut that broke any resistance from the home squad.

Huertas finished with 8 points and 7 assists, and his ball movement was key in getting Brazil to look for the open shot. The South Americans went 10/24 from downtown, with Georginho de Paula shooting 3/4 en route to his 18 points.

The U.S. seemed overwhelmed in the first half, and that wound up costing them the game despite a very valiant defensive effort after intermission.

Veteran Langston Galloway came alive in the second half and finished with 14 points. Forward Alize Johnson added 10 and four rebounds.

Jim Boylen's squad won both the third and fourth quarters but failed to shave the difference down to a single digit as Brazil smartly slowed things down and used the clock against them.

The United States seemed to lack both a No. 1 option on offense and enough outside shooting to match Brazil's firepower.

The U.S. shot just 7/26 from three-point territory and missed the marksmanship of team stalwarts like Matt Ryan or John Jenkins.

They also got outrebounded 40-32 and scored a meager 38 points in the paint, enough to explain how their opponent handed them their second loss of the Qualifiers after losing to Mexico almost exactly a year ago in Chihuahua City.

As for Brazil, it's safe to say they're back on track after losing three consecutive games in these Qualifiers.

Conti's guys won silver this summer at AmeriCup, losing by a single bucket to Argentina in the final, and are clearly back to their triumphant ways.

The U.S. (7-2) still leads Group F, but now Brazil (6-3) is just a single game behind them. These teams will see each other once again in the very last game of the competition, with the rubber match scheduled for February 23, 2023, in Brazil.

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