The United States advanced to the semifinals of the men’s basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after defeating Brazil 122-87 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night (Wednesday in the Philippines) at Bercy Arena in Paris, France.

Devin Booker fueled the offense with 18 points, including five three-pointers, while Anthony Edwards came off the bench and contributed 17 points to Team USA’s clear victory.

Joel Embiid contributed 14 points, Anthony Davis finished with 13 points, while LeBron James and Kevin Durant contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the reigning Olympic gold medalists.

Team USA made its presence felt in the opening quarter, building a 33-21 lead and extending the lead to 63-36 at halftime.

With the outcome no longer in doubt, the U.S. team effortlessly crossed the finish line, with every player getting on the scoresheet and head coach Steve Kerr using all 12 of his players for the first time at the Summer Games.

Bruno Caboclo was the top scorer with 30 points, while Georginho de Paula contributed 15 points for Brazil, which denied Gilas Pilipinas a place in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Latvia last month.

Meanwhile, Serbia, the 2023 FIFA World Cup runners-up, reached the semifinals after a 95-90 extra-time win over the Australia Boomers, having come from behind in the quarterfinals.

Nikola Jokic stepped up for the Serbs in overtime, sinking a layup that gave his team a 91-90 lead before adding another layup to make it 93-90 with less than a minute to go.

The Denver Nuggets center had 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Bogdan Bogdanovic contributed 17 points for Serbia, which overcame a 24-point deficit in the first half to secure the win.

Patty Mills scored 26 points, including 20 in the first half, for the Boomers, who won the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo three years ago.

In other quarter-final results, Germany managed a 76-63 victory against Greece, while host France advanced to the next round with an 82-73 victory against Canada./PM

RESULT:

USA 122 – Booker 18, Edwards 17, Embiid 14, Davis 13, James 12, Durant 11, Holiday 9, Adebayo 9, Curry 7, Tatum 5, White 5, Haliburton 2.

BRAZIL 87 – Caboclo 30, De Paula 15, Huertas 9, Dias 8, Y. Santos 8, Meindl 7, G. Santos 7, Benite 3, Neto 0, Cardoso 0, Felicio 0, Louzada 0.

Quarter results: 33–21, 63–36, 94–71, 122–87.