JARAGUÁ DO SUL (Brazil) - In a staggering, group-altering upset, Mexico defeated Brazil, 82-72, Monday night at Arena Jaraguá to hand the home team their third consecutive loss in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.

Brazil came into this Group F matchup hoping to leave behind back-to-back losses to Colombia and Puerto Rico but suffered from another anemic start to a game.

In a low-scoring affair, Mexico had a 17-13 edge at the end of the first quarter, stopping the Brazilian offense on its tracks as they slowly, but surely widened the gap behind forward Irwin Ávalos – who dropped seven of his 16 points in the opening period.

And yet, the worst was still to come for Brazil, as Mexico unleashed a storm of three-pointers in the second to take a commanding lead.

Omar Quintero’s guys shot 7/18 from beyond the arc and Mexico took a 38-30 lead into halftime – combining ball movement and accuracy with diligent work on the boards and excellent defense.

As for what ensued next, Mexico came out of the locker room determined to prove that the first half wasn’t a mirage.

Led by Paul Stoll’s marksmanship, Mexico spread out the Brazilian defense and bombed away, finishing the third quarter on a high note – and with a 16-point lead, silencing the home crowd in Jaraguá do Sul.

The 36-year-old Stoll shot 4/4 from downtown but he wasn’t alone.

Orlando Méndez (10 points) hit a couple off the bench, Ávalos and Gabriel Girón (10 points) connected one apiece and Pako Cruz did the rest.

The 32-year-old shooting guard went 4/8 from three-point territory and finished with 13 points on a night where Mexico went 12/28 overall and shot 47.6 percent from the field.

As for Brazil, their answer came too little too late.

Gustavo Conti’s squad finally found some urgency in the final period, taking advantage of Mexico’s late-game complacency as the final buzzer neared.

But once again, Brazil missed Bruno Caboclo’s contributions on both ends of the floors – struggling to score in the paint, where they just notched 30 points to Mexico’s 28.

Former NBA players Marcelinho Huertas (2 points and 4 assists in 13 minutes) and Cristiano Felicio (7 points and 3 rebounds in 15 minutes) couldn’t leave their mark on the game.

And despite getting 50 points from their reserves, Brazil only had one starter (Didi Louzada, 10 points) scoring in double digits.

Yago Santos led the way for Brazil with 15 points and 4 rebounds, while Lucas Dias poured in 12 points and 5 boards. George De Paula had 7 points, including this thunderous breakway dunk:

Mexico was just simply better at shoring up their weaknesses, as seen by fighting the rebounding almost to a stalemate (47-41 Brazil). They not only were able to rebound above their average coming in (35.9), but also held Brazil slightly below their tournament-leading pace (47.4 rebounds per game).

They also took care of the ball (just 14 turnovers) and were more opportunistic at exploiting Brazil’s miscues (21-14 in points off turnovers).

In the end, Brazil cut the margin down to 5 points before Stoll put it away with his fourth bomb of the night.

With the shocking result, Mexico tied Brazil and they both now have 5-3 records in Group F at the end of the Window 4.

FIBA