Unstoppable Brazil blow by Mexico, ease through to the Final

SPLIT (Croatia) - Mexico troubled Brazil for 20 minutes, but coach Aleksandar Petrovic's side switched through gears after the break to book a trip to the Final with a 102-74 win.

Brazil now waits for the end of the Germany v Croatia game to learn the name of their opponents in the last game of the event in Split. Meanwhile, Mexico are out of contention but have a lot to be proud of with the way they played since day 1 in Croatia.

Turning point: It's not the first time that Brazil have closed the half on another level in Spaladium Arena. In fact, they've done it in all of their games, and a halfcourt shot by Alex Garcia at the buzzer set the score at 53-42 after two quarters. 

Brazil came back even stronger and the exclamation mark was one of their favorite plays. Vitor Benite came off of a floppy set and realized that the man guarding Marcelinho Huertas was helping from one-pass away. Benite immediately sent the ball back for a wide-open Marcelinho. The point guard was 0-of-4 from deep until that point, but once he knocked down his first triple of the game, the floor opened.

Everybody started hitting shots, sending the Brazil squad to a 30-point lead in the fourth quarter. Brazil defeated Tunisia by 26, Croatia by 27, and Mexico by 28. Does that mean they will be +29 in the Final?

"No comment," coach Petrovic just smiled.

Game Hero: "They have Vitor Benite coming off the bench," Pako Cruz said at the press conference and explained all you need to know about Brazil's depth. Benite and Cruz had a wild shootout in the first half, both of them picking up 16 points in the first two quarters.

Benite finished with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Stats don't lie: When Brazil are 18-of-34 from three-point range, all you can do is run for cover...

Bottom line: Brazil will now face either Croatia or Germany in the Final. Coach Petrovic said his team will prepare for Germany because they already played against Croatia in the Group Stage and know what to expect in case of a Final with the hosts.

Mexico played an amazing tournament, coach Omar Quintero - who played for Petrovic in Italy in 2006 - has done an amazing job, and Pako Cruz gained a lot of fans worldwide for his performances here in Split.

They said:

FIBA