Antetokounmpo, going to the Olympics for the first time, scored 23 points and Greece beat Croatia 80-69 on Sunday in one of four men’s basketball qualifying tournament finals held to determine the final spot in the 12-team field. being done. Paris game.
“The best athletes in the world compete in the Olympic Games,” Antetokounmpo said. “We have nothing to lose. …I really believe we have an incredible team and we can accomplish something special.”
Georgios Papagiannis scored 19 points for Greece, which got 14 from Nick Calathes and secured an Olympic quota for the first time since 2008.
“It’s great to qualify because it’s the first step,” Papagiannis said. “At the Olympics, we really want to do something good.”
Ivica Zubac had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Croatia, which got 15 points each from Mateo Dreznjak and Mario Hezonja and 14 points from Dario Saric.
Greece will be placed in Group A for the Paris Games, with its opening stage games against Australia, Canada and Spain – who also qualified after beating the Bahamas on Sunday.
Already qualified for the Paris zone are: four-time gold medalists the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Serbia, South Sudan, Canada and Australia. France qualified as the host nation; The other seven teams on that list qualified by virtue of their finish at the World Cup the previous summer.
And on Sunday, Brazil, Greece, Spain and Puerto Rico took the final spots after prevailing in a winner-take-all qualifier that began last week.
Puerto Rico 79, Lithuania 68
For the first time since 2004, Puerto Rico is advancing to the Olympics.
In San Juan, the host team got 23 points from Jose Alvarado, 18 points from Tremont Waters and defeated Lithuania 79–68 to claim the 12th and final spot in the field for the Paris Games.
“Obviously, this game was very important for us and for the island,” Alvarado said. “But we knew it was more than just basketball. We knew how great we had to be to represent this island and the love they gave us was amazing. “We just wanted to do the best we could for them.”
Puerto Rico will be drawn into group play with Serbia, South Sudan and the United States in France. The Americans and Puerto Rico also played in the 2004 Olympics, with Puerto Rico winning 92–73.
Rokas Jokubaitis scored 16 points and Domantas Sabonis scored 10 points for Lithuania.
“We have to come together to make history,” said Puerto Rico coach Nelson Colón.
Spain 86, Bahamas 78
Rudy Fernandez is going to the Olympics for the sixth time, a first for any male basketball player. And Spain had to dig deep to get there.
Spain secured its seventh consecutive Olympic berth by defeating the Bahamas 86–78 in Valencia, Spain.
Lorenzo Brown had 18 points for Spain, with 14 from Willy Hernangomez, 12 from Santiago Aldama and 10 from Osman Garuba.
Buddy Hield led the Bahamas with 19 points. Deandre Ayton scored 17, Eric Gordon had 15 and Valdez Edgecombe Jr. scored 12.
Like Greece, Spain is in Group A with Australia and Canada for the opening stage of the Games in Paris.
Brazil 94, Latvia 69
In Riga, Latvia, Brazil went on a 19–0 run in the final 3:21 of the first quarter for a surprisingly easy victory over Latvia, 94–69.
Bruno Caboclo led Brazil with 21 points and Leo Meindl added 20 points. Caboclo made a 65-foot 3-pointer to end the first quarter – in which Brazil went 8 for 8 from beyond the arc and took a 34–11 lead. Home crowd.
“My father was a basketball player and his dream was to play in the Olympic Games,” Meindl said. “I’m making it for me, for her and for my family. I feel on clouds.”
Rihards Lomaz scored 15 for Latvia, which got 14 points each from Rolands Smits and Arturs Zagers.
“It looked like it was going their way right from the first quarter,” Zagers said.
Brazil will be placed in Group B for the Olympics, with games against France (July 27), Germany (July 30) and Japan (August 2) in the preliminary round.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
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