There was never any doubt which team was the best in the Tournament of the Americas. Now it's known who's the best of the rest.
On the day the Dream Team debuted with an expected rout, Brazil again showed it can handle the rest of the field, this time with a 128-81 rout of Venezuela."This is the strongest Brazilian team in recent years," Brazil coach Jose Medalha said.
Brazil 128, Venezuela 81
Brazil shot 63 percent (52 for 83), while holding Venezuela (1-1) to 35 percent (30 for 85), including just 25 percent in the second half (11 for 44) when it blew the game open and led by as much as 122-70.
Oscar Schmidt added 23 points for Brazil, while Carl Hererra of the Houston Rockets led Venezuela with 17.
Puerto Rico 64, Mexico 58
Puerto Rico (1-1) led 58-43 with 4:54 to play when Mexico, which shot 27 percent for the game (20 for 73), finally started hitting from the outside.
Jose Ortiz, who played for the Utah Jazz, had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Canada 87, Argentina 80
Bill Wennington had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Canada (1-1) less than 24 hours after its crushing at-the-buzzer loss to Cuba. Argentina (1-1) did scare Canada, getting within 79-77 with 1:24 left. But Ron McMahon made two free throws one second later and Argentina was never closer.