Santos sends Brazil through to Second Round

JAKARTA (Indonesia) - Brazil secured their spot in the Second Round after clinching second place in Group G with an 89-77 victory over Cote d'Ivoire.

Turning point: The Elephants led for most of the first quarter, thanks to repeated trips to the free throw line and some savvy strategy on defense. However, Yago Santos took over in the second as his 13 points in the session allowed Brazil to get out in front. Georginho De Paula pulled up from the logo with 2:38 left and hit a dagger that was too much to recover from for Cote d'Ivoire, making the score 82-74.

TCL Player of the Game: Yago Santos scored 19 points in the first half on an amazing 5-of-5 shooting from three-point range. The point guard battled through a leg injury and finished with 24 points, 12 assists, 4 rebounds and an amazing 38 efficiency. 

Santos is now tied for the fifth place in World Cup history for assists in a single game since data was officially recorded in 1994.

Cedric Bah did everything in his power to make it a tough night for the opposition with an energetic 13 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks for the Elephants.

Stats don't lie: It was a valiant effort by both teams, but Brazil ultimately was much more precise on their three-balls. The Brazilians converted 14-of-32 shots from long range, whereas Cote d'Ivoire just couldn't knock down some good looks and utilized only 7-of-23 attempts from downtown.

Bottom line: Brazil now have to look forward for the Second Round where they will battle it out with Canada and Latvia for a place in the Quarter-Finals. Spain is a favorite to pick up their third win against Iran later tonight, so the South Americans will most likely have to gather two victories in two games.

Cote d'Ivoire probably aren't thrilled about the moral victory, yet the fight they put up against Brazil shows promise for their abilities in the Classification Round. They will face France and Lebanon in games that will decide their fate in regards to Paris 2024. However, Cape Verde still have a shot at advancing and being the team from Africa that books a direct flight to Paris.

They said: 

FIBA