Brazil loses to Germany and doesn’t get a place in Tokyo

The Pre-Olympic decision of Basketball, between Brazil and Germany, was far from being a great match. In a very truncated game, with few points and many mistakes on both sides, the Germans won by 75 to 64 the Brazilian team and won the spot for the Tokyo Olympics in men’s basketball. It is the first time since 1976 that Brazil, whether with the men’s or women’s team, is out of the sport in the Olympic Games.

The men’s team came from a sequence of participation in two consecutive Olympics, but qualified for the Games only once (for London-2012, since in Rio-2016 the place came as host) since Atlanta-1996. The last Olympics without the women’s team was Seoul-1988.

The key point of the game was the lack of Brazilian aim. In the semifinal against Mexico, Brazil hit 18 balls from three points. Against Germany, there were only seven hits (out of 25 attempts). The scorer of the game was German Mo Wagner, with 28 points. For Brazil, Anderson Varejão finished with 14 points.

The game

Despite the excitement of the last three good performances against Tunisia, Croatia and Mexico, the Brazilian team entered a nervous court for the dispute in the Olympic spot. In the first quarter tied, the mistakes highlighted the good moves. Germany came to open six points, and Brazil managed to turn around. The three-point ball, one of the team’s main weapons, didn’t work, and coach Petrovic had to give the team a hard time.

In the second quarter, the Germans grew and opened 11 points of advantage. Yago entered the court, and set the pace in the final minutes to make Brazil touch the scoreboard — 34 to 36. With 7 points, Bruno Caboclo was the highlight of the first half.

The Brazilian quintet reacted at the beginning of the third period and even drew, but could not fit a sequence of good attacks. Germany finished the fourth with a six-point advantage, signaling a dramatic last quarter for the Brazilians. At the last time, Germany soared. With Alex out after reaching the limit of fouls, the Brazilian defense was more vulnerable, and the opposing advantage grew again. The score ended at 75-64.

At the Olympics, Germany will be in the group of Australia and Nigeria, in addition to the Pre-Olympic champion of Belgrade (Italy and Serbia are in the final).

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