Marcelo Huertas and the Brazilian National Team will have home-court advantage in Rio de Janeiro and — after going 6-0 in pre-Olympics exhibition matches — plenty of momentum as well.

Huertas is starting at point guard for the Brazilians, who are ranked No. 9 in the world by FIBA. Placed behind Russia and Turkey — which didn’t even qualify for the Olympics — that might be a bit low considering Brazil’s dominance in the lead-up to Rio.

As pilot of his team’s offense, Huertas has been a key cog during this run, leading all players in assists in four of the six games.

Brazil began by crushing Romania (not ranked by FIBA) in back-to-back games in Huertas’ hometown of Sao Paulo. He provided eight points and seven assists in the later contest.

Next, the Olympic hosts shifted over to Mogi das Cruzes for the Brazil Super Challenge. They began by routing the Oceania Champion, No. 11 Australia, while Huertas contributed nine points and seven assists.

After that was a 91-52 beatdown of the Asia Champ, 14th-ranked China, as the Laker pitched in four points, five rebounds and five assists.

Brazil ended the Challenge by going toe-to-toe with one of the world’s top teams, No. 3 Lithuania. Huertas handed out four assists in the defensive-minded affair, as Brazil scored the 64-62 upset.

However, both teams were also trying not to tip their strategy too much, considering they will meet again in their Olympic opener on Aug. 7.

In order to complete Brazil’s perfect exhibition slate, it leaned on Huertas, who had his finest game in the finale against China, which came much more prepared for its rematch with the Brazilians. China led at halftime, but Huertas’ 10 assists helped his country rally for an 83-69 win.

“Marcelinho,” as he is known in Brazil, averaged 4.5 points and 6.2 assists while shooting 44.0 percent during the pre-Olympics schedule.

He will be joined in Rio by fellow NBA players Leandro Barbosa, Nene, Raul Neto and Cristiano Felicio. The Brazilian roster also includes NBA alums Vitor Faverani, Alex Garcia and Marcus Vinicius de Souza.

In addition to Brazil’s matchup with Lithuania, it is scheduled for another major test against on Aug. 9 against Huertas’ new Lakers teammate, Jose Calderon, and the second-ranked Spanish squad.

This will be the second Olympic run for Huertas, who averaged 11.3 points and 6.0 assists during Brazil’s six-game run to the quarterfinals of the 2012 London Olympics.

He has also helped his country to gold medals at the Pan American Games, South American Championship and a pair at the FIBA Americas Championship.

Olympic Schedule

Aug. 7 vs. Lithuania (10:15 a.m.)

Aug. 9 vs. Spain (10:15 a.m.)

Aug. 11 vs. Croatia (10:15 a.m.)

Aug. 13 vs. Argentina (10:15 a.m.)

Aug. 15 vs. Nigeria (10:15 a.m.)

Aug. 17: Quarterfinals

Aug. 19: Semifinals

Aug. 21: Finals

Pre-Olympic Schedule

July 23: W 90-45 vs. Romania in Sao Paulo

July 25: W 96-50 vs. Romania in Sao Paulo

July 28: W 96-67 vs. Australia in Mogi das Cruzes*

July 30: W 91-52 vs. China in Mogi das Cruzes*

July 31: W 64-62 vs. Lithuania in Mogi das Cruzes*

Aug. 2: W 83-69 vs. China in Mogi das Cruzes

*Brazil Super Challenge