Giannis Antetokounmpo has so far failed to qualify for the Olympics. He needs one win to turn that around.
Thomas Walkup scored 19 points, Antetokounmpo added 13 in 21 minutes and Greece took a victory at the Paris Games, eliminating Luka Doncic and Slovenia 96-68 on Saturday in the semifinals of the Olympic qualifying tournament.
“Since coach (Vassilis) Spanoulis took charge of the whole thing, our goal has been to reach the Olympics,” Walkup said. “We’re just one game away from winning. We have to stay humble and focused.”
Doncic finished with 21 points in the game in Piraeus, Greece, which marked the first time the two NBA megastars faced each other representing their senior national teams.
“They played a lot better than us. They were a lot more aggressive,” Doncic said. “I think they have an incredible team. Obviously, they have Giannis. But other things are very important to them, too. And they have a very good coaching team. … They outplayed us today.”
The match was one of eight semi-finals to determine the final four spots in the men’s basketball competition for the Paris Games.
Vasileios Toliopoulos added 14 points for Greece, which will face Croatia on Sunday in the final of the Greek tournament, with the winner securing a place at the Paris Olympics.
Other semi-finals took place on Saturday at tournaments in Spain, Latvia and Puerto Rico.
Doncic, who played through injuries in the NBA Finals with the Dallas Mavericks in their five-game loss to the Boston Celtics, averaged 31 points in Slovenia’s first two qualifying games. But he had a game Saturday against Greece’s big offensive line.
Slovenia were quickly put on the spot, with Greece scoring the first 13 points of the game and taking a 32-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Greece’s advantage grew to 23 points in the second quarter before Slovenia used a final burst of scoring to cut it to 47-33 at halftime.
Greece came back quickly in the third quarter, using an 11-3 run to pull away and maintain a 16-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Slovenia shot just 43 percent (23 of 54) from the field during the game. In comparison, Greece shot 54 percent (34 of 70), which also had a 38-25 advantage in rebounds.
Croatia 80, Dominican Republic 77
Ivica Zubac made 10 of 10 shots and finished with 25 points and nine rebounds to help Croatia beat the Dominican Republic in the second semifinal of the day in Greece.
Dario Saric and Jaleen Smith added 14 points apiece to lift Croatia into Sunday’s final against Greece for a chance to return to the Olympics for the first time since 2016.
Christopher Duarte finished with 17 points and leads the Dominican Republic.
The game featured 13 ties and six lead changes and was uncertain heading into the final seconds.
Trailing 78-74, Dominican Jean Montero made a steal and was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 3 seconds left by Croatian Smith.
Montero converted all three free throws that followed to cut the deficit to one point.
The Dominican Republic quickly fouled Mario Hezonja, who made his next two free throws.
Duarte had a good chance to make a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but his shot missed the rim.
Brazil 71, Philippines 60
In Riga, Latvia, Bruno Caboclo scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Brazil beat the Philippines 71-60 to advance to the tournament final.
Marcelinho Huertas added 13 points to help keep Brazil’s hopes of reaching its first Olympics since 2016 alive.
The Brazilians will face Latvia on Sunday in the final of this tournament.
Justin Brownlee finished with 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the Philippines, which shot just 38 percent from the field (24 of 64) for the game and had 15 turnovers.
The Philippines led 33-27 at halftime before Brazil opened the third quarter with a 14-0 run. Brazil led 24-6 in the quarter, and took a 51-39 lead by the end of the fourth.
The final period was more of the same. The Philippines pulled within 53-46, before Brazil responded with an 8-0 run to end the game.
Latvia 72, Cameroon 59
In the second semi-final in Riga, Rihards Lomazs scored 20 points and Latvia withstood several late surges to hold off Cameroon 72-59.
Rolands Smits added 13 points to help Latvia advance to Sunday’s final against Brazil, where they will seek their first Olympic appearance since 1936.
Latvia led 53-50 at the start of the fourth quarter and started the final period with a 9-0 score.
Cameroon came back to 65-59 with 2’14 left thanks to a layup by Brice Eyaga Bidias. But Latvia managed to close the game on the free throw line.
Williams Narace led Cameroon with 14 points.
Bahamas 89, Lebanon 72
In Valencia, Spain, Deandre Ayton scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Bahamas to an 89-72 victory over Lebanon.
Buddy Hield scored 19 points and had 10 assists to help the Bahamas move within one win of their first Olympic appearance. The Bahamas will face Spain in the final on Sunday.
The Bahamas led by as many as 20 points in the first half.
Lebanon cut its deficit to 75-68 in the fourth quarter. But the Bahamas outscored Lebanon 14-4 in the remaining 3 minutes and 50 seconds.
Sergio El Darwich led Lebanon with 22 points.
Spain 81, Finland 74
Willy Hernangomez scored 28 points and Spain rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Finland 81-74 in the second semifinal of the day for Valencia.
Lorenzo Brown and Santiago Aldama each added 15 points to lift Spain into Sunday’s final against the Bahamas. Spain will be looking for a seventh consecutive Olympic berth.
Andre Gustavson scored 15 points for Finland, which has not competed in the Olympics since 1964.
There were three lead changes in a furious final ten minutes.
Finland led 59-56 at the start of the period and took their final advantage 66-64 thanks to a three-pointer by Elias Valtonen. But Spain outscored Finland 18-8 for the rest of the game.
Lithuania 88, Italy 64
Marius Grigonis scored 23 points, including six three-pointers, to help Lithuania beat Italy 88-64 and advance to the tournament final in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Mindaugas Kuzminskas added 14 points to keep Lithuania on track to qualify for its first Olympic tournament since 2016. It will face Puerto Rico on Sunday.
Lithuania opened the game with a 21-4 run that began in the second quarter and continued into the third, opening a 59-40 lead.
Danilo Gallinari led Italy with 15 points.
Puerto Rico 98, Mexico 78
Tremont Watter scored 24 points to help host Puerto Rico advance to Sunday’s final with a 98-78 victory over Mexico.
Jordan Howard finished with 20 points, giving Puerto Rico a spot in Sunday’s final against Lithuania. Puerto Rico will be looking to qualify for its first Olympics since 2004.
Seven of the last eight games between the two teams have been decided by 10 points or less. The game was tight again Saturday before Puerto Rico took over in the second half, leading by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Fabian Jaimes led Mexico with 20 points.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paris-olympics-2024
