Game Recap: Team USA beats Brazil, Officially earns a spot in 2020 Olympics

Kemba Walker warming up before Team USA's last matchup against Greece. Photo via Lintao Zhang
Monday morning, Team USA played against Brazil as they continue their undefeated run in the tournament, and although it wasn't as big of a blowout as their game against Japan they still managed to head home with a solid win. The final score was 89-73 in favor of America.
In winning the game, Team USA advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2019 FIBA World Cup. What this means for the future, is that Team USA has now officially earned a spot in the 2020 summer Olympics which will be held in Tokyo next year.

What stinks is that although this particular group of players worked hard this summer to get their current 5-0 record and that spot in next year's Olympics, a lot of them will most likely not be participating.

As per usual, many of the big-name players that pulled out of participation in this FIBA tournament will most likely come back and get a spot on the team in favor of a stronger, more well balanced USA squad in contention for an Olympic gold medal. That being said, I'm sure the only thing on this roster's mind right now is winning the tournament they are currently in, and they seem to be on the right path.

To no one's surprise at this point, Celtics' point guard Kemba Walker once again led the team in their fifth win of the tournament. In 25 minutes, he finished with a total of 16 points on 67% shooting (6/9) along with 5 assists. He was tied for the highest points scored on the team with Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner, who also grabbed 8 rebounds.
Although the Celtics' young star Jayson Tatum is still sidelined with an ankle injury, his teammate Jaylen Brown continues to step up in his absence. The 22-year-old had a solid 11 points off of 55% shooting (5/9) as well as 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Not to mention, he also managed to throw a couple more clips into his impressive highlight reel thus far in the tournament, including a high-flying dunk right down the middle of the lane.
The final member of Team Shamrock certainly made his presence known today as well. Returning after his defensive performance against Giannis Antetokoumpo versus Greece, Marcus Smart played 17 minutes against Brazil in which he scored 9 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, and snatched up both a steal and a block in the win.
He also managed to knock down a very impressive three-point buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter, right before Team USA sealed the win in the fourth.
After this 16 point win against Brazil, Team USA will now look forward to their quarterfinal match up with France this Wednesday. However, if you want to check out the full box score and breakdown of today's game you can click here.

You can follow Thomas Desmond on Twitter @td_654.
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I'm a college student studying in Creative Writing as well as Communication and Media studies.