RECIFE (Brazil) – After trailing Uruguay for the first half, Brazil managed to kick their play into second gear to be the only team to remain undefeated in Group A, defeating Uruguay 76-66 on the fifth day of group action at the FIBA AmeriCup.

Uruguay knew that to take advantage of Brazil they needed to come out of the gate strong, and did exactly that going on an 11-0 run in the first quarter before Brazil could catch up, and led 26-16 after the first frame thanks to a massive performance by Luciano Parodi with 9 points.

Brazil responded by going on a 9-0 run to open the second quarter and prove that they were still in the game, and Cristiano Felicio’s dual threat play of 9 points and 6 rebounds in the quarter was part of the revival of Brazil’s game.

A fast-paced style of play centred on ball movement and controlling the boards on both ends of the game, Brazil managed to cut the deficit down to 8 points at half time, trailing 43-35 as Uruguay managed to keep their lead by scoring in transition and utilizing Brazil’s turnovers to score.

Uruguay also held Brazil to just 20 percent from beyond the arc in the first half, shutting down one of their usual go-to scoring spots while forcing Brazil to make 11 turnovers as they became frustrated.

However, Brazil used that frustration to fuel their comeback, not only finally finding their scoring flow as they shot 65 percent from the floor to end the game, but also used their deep bench rotation to tip in 37 points, while defensively holding Uruguay as a whole to just 23 second half points.

Four different Brazil scorers managed to end the game in double-digit scoring with Felicio leading the team with 14 points and 9 rebounds, while Leonardo Meindl added 13 points and Yago Santos and Marcelinho Huertas added 12 each.

Parodi led Uruguay with 17 points while Joaquin Rodriquez and Esteban Batisita both added 13, accounting for 43 of Uruguay’s 66 points.

 FIBA