CHIHUHUA (Mexico) - Don’t look now, but Brazil is all the way back to its triumphant ways.

Gustavo Conti’s squad completed their Window 5 sweep Monday night with an explosive 102-56 victory over Mexico at Gimnasio Auditorio Universitario in Chihuahua City, leapfrogging their opponent in the standings and rising to second place in Group F of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Americas Qualifiers.

This came on the heels of Brazil upsetting the United States Friday afternoon in Washington, D.C. Suddenly, and after losing three consecutive games, the South Americans have themselves a winning streak and excellent chances of qualifying to next year’s tournament in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

Brazil was a team possessed from the jump, quickly accruing a 19-4 lead behind the brilliant playmaking of Marcelinho Huertas.

The former NBA point guard dissected the defense time and again and sprayed passes throughout the arc and in the paint, where Bruno Caboclo was once again ready to dominate.

And the shooters, well, shot their shots and made them at a breathtaking clip.

How dominant was their long-range performance? So dominant that they made more three-pointers (20) than two-pointers (15). Yes, Brazil shot a white hot 20/40 from beyond the arc, converting them all the way into the final buzzer as they widened and widened their lead.

And everyone joined the party.

Huertas finished with 15 points and five assists, including 3 three-pointers. Vitor Benite added three more and finished with 14 points and six boards.

Caboclo, Cristiano Felicio, Lucas Mariano, Leandro Meindl, Yago Santos and Tim Soares also connected on 2 apiece.

It was a remarkable display of volume and accuracy, as Brazil took Mexico’s bread and butter and turned it against them, going up by as much as 46 points in the final minute of the game.

There was nothing head coach Omar Quintero or his tough and resilient squad could do in the face of such a tidal wave.

Pako Cruz shot 7/19 to lead his country with 20 points, while Joshua Ibarra (12 points) was the only other player scoring in double digits.

Cruz did manage to make four three-pointers for the 10th time in his last 11 games and scored 13+ for the seventh time in a row.

But Brazil was on a rampage and never took the foot off the gas.

The South Americans assisted on 21 of their 35 buckets, shot above 60 percent from the field and outrebounded Mexico 44-30.

Six different players scored in double digits, with Caboclo notching another double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and a pair of blocks.

Brazil is now 7-3 and a single game behind the United States for first in Group F and while clinching their spot in the World Cup during Window 5 was mathematically impossible, it now seems unthinkable that they won’t be one of the seven countries representing the Americas.

As for Mexico, the loss not only interrupted their two-game winning streak, but the massive margin of defeat sent them all the way down to fourth place. They’re currently tied with Puerto Rico at 6-4, but while the boricuas have a +/- of +26, Mexico now sits at -20.

FIBA