Greece opens strong; Doncic and Slovenia still have a chance

Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Greece FIBA ​​OQT match against the Dominican Republic in Piraeus, Greece. –FIBA BASKETBALL PHOTO

Giannis Antetokounmpo seemed like a player who would lead Greece to its first Olympic participation since 2008.

Antetokounmpo scored 32 points in 19 minutes, 11 of 11 times, as Greece beat the Dominican Republic 109-82 on Wednesday in Group B of the Fiba OQT in Piraeus, Greece.

Thomas Walkup added 17 points for Greece, who led by as many as 27 points and can advance to the semi-finals with a win over Egypt on Thursday.

READ: Fiba OQT: Bahamas beat Finland in season opener, Slovenia loses to Croatia

“Giannis likes to be here. He likes to represent his country,” said Greek coach Vassilis Spanoulis. “He is very humble. He is part of the team. For a superstar, this is not easy. … He wants to win.”

The tournament in Greece is one of four that started on Tuesday to determine the final four places in the field for the Olympic Games in Paris. Other tournaments are underway in Latvia, Puerto Rico and Spain.

Group matches at all four venues continue until Thursday, with the semi-finals on Saturday and the title matches on Sunday.

READ: Doncic and Antetokounmpo aim for last chance at Paris Olympics in Fiba OQT

Competing in the Olympics is one of the few things Antetokounmpo has yet to achieve in his career.

On Wednesday, he appeared completely untroubled by the left calf strain that kept him out of the Milwaukee Bucks’ April playoffs. He got to the rim when he wanted, made 9 of 13 free throws and made his only 3-point attempt.

New Zealand 90, Croatia 86

Croatia made progress in the battle for one of the last Olympic spots, but not with the pace it had hoped.

New Zealand defeated Croatia 90-86 in Group A in Piraeus. Corey Webster had 21 points and Shea Ili added 18, including a go-ahead layup in the final minute to help New Zealand rally.

“I think this is just a gutsy win from our team,” said New Zealand captain Reuben Te Rangi.

Ivica Zubac had 29 points and 16 rebounds, Dario Saric added 19 points and eight rebounds and Mario Hezonja had 16 points for Croatia, which secured a spot in the semifinals by a four-point margin. The loss, however, kept NBA star Luka Doncic and Slovenia in the race.

Slovenia can advance from Group A and reach the semi-finals if it beats New Zealand by 21 points when the teams meet on Thursday. If not, New Zealand will advance.

Croatia won the season opener 108-92 against Slovenia on Tuesday.

“It was a difficult situation after an emotional win against Slovenia,” Saric said of Wednesday’s loss. “We hoped to play at the same level and push the game in our direction. But today it wasn’t the case.”

Montenegro 70, Cameroon 66

In Riga, Latvia, Montenegro survived a slow start and kept its semi-final chances alive by beating Cameroon 70-66.

Marko Simonovic had 18 points, six rebounds and went 9 of 9 from the free throw line to lead five Montenegro players in double figures. Nikola Vucevic finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Cameroon must play Brazil on Thursday to advance to the semi-finals in Group B. Otherwise, second place goes to Montenegro.

Cameroon led 32-29 at halftime. But Montenegro opened the third quarter with a 15-2 run to take a 44-34 lead and never trailed again. Montenegro made 7 of 9 free throws in the final period and 20 of 24 in the game.

Fabien Quentin Philibert Ateba and Jordan Bayehe each scored 14 points to lead Cameroon.

Bahamas 90, Poland 81

Valdez Edgecombe Jr. scored 21 points, Deandre Ayton added 18 points and nine rebounds and the Bahamas advanced to the knockout round after beating Poland in Valencia, Spain.

The Bahamas led by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter, making 13 3-pointers and assisting on 24 of their 31 field goals in the game. Buddy Hield finished with 17 points and 10 assists to help his team finish 2-0 in Group B.

Poland and Finland will play on Thursday to determine who will advance to the semi-finals along with the Bahamas.

Philippines 89, Latvia 80

Justin Brownlee fires a slam in Gilas Pilipinas’ FIBA ​​OQT win over Latvia. –FIBA BASKETBALL

Justin Brownlee had 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, helping the Philippines hold off a late charge and beat Latvia 89-80 in Group A of the Latvian tournament.

Kai Sotto added 18 points and eight rebounds.

READ: Gilas Pilipinas upsets world champion Latvia, opens Fiba OQT bid

Latvia trailed by 26 points and cut the 21-point deficit to 10 with 1:21 left in the fourth quarter, but the Philippines calmed down and were able to finish it off.

Rodions Kurucs led Latvia with 18 points.

The Philippines are the driving force to win the group and advance to the knockout stages when they face Georgia on Thursday. Latvia defeated Georgia 83-55 on Tuesday.

Spain 89, Angola 81

Santiago Aldama had 24 points and Spain defeated Angola 89-81 to win Group A and reach the semi-finals of the Spanish Liga tournament.

Willy Hernangomez added 22 points and 10 rebounds. The winner of Lebanon and Angola on Thursday will join Spain in the knockout round.

Spain entered the fourth quarter with a nine-point lead and Angola never got closer than six points after that.

Jilson Bango led Angola with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Lithuania 97, Ivory Coast 93

Domantas Sabonis scored 22 points to help Lithuania defeat Ivory Coast 97-93 and advance to the knockout round of the tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Marius Grigonis added 18 points and Lukas Lekavicius finished with 13, including 3 with less than a minute to play to give his team the lead for good. Sabonis also had nine rebounds to help Lithuania finish 2-0 in Group A.

Deon Thompson had 18 points to lead Ivory Coast, which must beat Mexico on Thursday to secure a spot in the semi-finals.

Ivory Coast entered the fourth period with a 72-65 lead.

Lithuania came within a point twice before Lekavicius floated for a 92-90 lead. Ivory Coast regained the lead with a minute to play on a 3 from Jean Philippe Dally.

Lekavicius responded with a 3-0 run to make it 95-93 with 41 seconds left.

Puerto Rico 90, Bahrain 56

Stephen Thompson Jr. scored 20 points as Puerto Rico defeated Bahrain 99-56 on home soil to secure a spot in the semi-finals.

George Conditt IV added 17 points and eight rebounds for Puerto Rico, which will face Italy on Thursday to determine the winner of Group B. Italy also advanced to the knockout stage after beating Bahrain 114-53 on Tuesday.

Puerto Rico was in control throughout the game, building a 39-19 lead at halftime. This lead grew to over 40 early in the fourth quarter.

Zee Hamoda led Bahrain with 15 points.