MANAGUA (Nicaragua) – MANAGUA (Nicaragua) – Georginho De Paula and Yago Santos orchestrated Brazil’s offense and led them to a 94-82 quarter-final victory over the Dominican Republic, becoming the first team to book a place in the FIBA AmeriCup 2025 Semi-Finals at the Alexis Arguello Sports Complex in Managua, Nicaragua. The Brazilians went against an undefeated opponent, reminding everyone they remain a strong title contender, although they lost some momentum by finishing third in Group A.
Turning point
Brazil took control starting in the second quarter. Georginho and Yago moved the ball strategically and created mismatches against the Dominican defense. When matched up against taller players, they used their speed to score, while also finding teammates under the basket against smaller defenders. Brazil capitalized on these advantages a lot. Brazil dominated the second quarter 29-17 and the third 28-19 to head into the final 10 minutes with a 14-point cushion (75-61). In the fourth, the Dominican Republic sparked a comeback with back-to-back triples from Jassel Pérez, but Brazil answered with six straight points to stop the rally and managed its double-digit lead all the way to the buzzer. The Dominicans missed forward David Jones-García, who had been the team’s efficiency leader in the first two games. In the third quarter, they also lost star guard Jean Montero after an unsportsmanlike foul on Reynan Santos that resulted in his ejection, further reducing their chances.
TCL player of the game
De Paula only scored 12 points across two group phase games and missed the third, but came in fresh for the quarter-finals. He exploded with 28 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals.
Yago followed with 25 points (including 4 three-pointers), 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Bruno Caboclo thrived off the space created by his backcourt partners to add 19 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks. Lucas Dias, who played the full 40 minutes, also contributed with 12 points and 6 rebounds.
Stats don’t lie
It was a physical battle, with both teams combining for 54 free-throw attempts. But Brazil’s shooting efficiency tilted the game in its favor. The team shot 54 percent from the field (34-63), while the Dominicans hit just 41 percent (28-65). Brazil also dominated points in the paint, 50-36.
Bottom line
With this win, Brazil improved to 10 victories and only two losses against the Dominican Republic in AmeriCup history. The South Americans were without center Ruan Miranda, who underwent an MRI earlier on Thursday that revealed a torn ACL in his right knee, according to the Brazilian Basketball Confederation (CBB). He will miss the rest of the AmeriCup. In the semi-finals, Brazil will face the winner between USA and Uruguay, who play immediately after this game.
They said
Brazil head coach Aleksandar Petrovic stated in the postgame press conference that he felt the Dominican Republic could be a more favorable matchup for the team in the quarter-finals. “Against the USA we had many problems because we were missing two players: Georginho (De Paula), Vitor (Benite), plus the injury to Ruan Miranda. For the first 30 minutes, we wanted to win, and we were ahead, but then the moment came, and I made the decision. It was either face the USA again or play Dominican Republic,” Petrovic said. "I chose Dominican Republic because historically (before this game) we had 9 wins and only 2 losses against them, and also their best player in this tournament (David Jones) wasn’t going to play.”
FIBA