Slovenia, Germany, Italy and Czech Republic secure final 4 Olympic spots
The final four men’s basketball spots in the Tokyo Olympic Games were determined Sunday, as eight teams tipped off in FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament finals.
The finals were contested in Kaunas, Lithuania, Split, Croatia, Belgrade, Serbia and Victoria, Canada.
The Czech Republic, winners of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Canada, will join the United States, France and Iran in Group A in Tokyo. Germany, which won the tournament in Croatia on Sunday, joins Italy, which knocked out the hosts to win the tournament in Serbia, along with Australia and Nigeria in Group B.
Slovenia, which won the first final of the day on Sunday in Lithuania, will round out Group C, which already consists of Argentina, Japan and Spain.
Kaunas, Lithuania: Slovenia 96, Lithuania 85
Luka Doncic Talks Leading Slovenia To Its First Olympics
Luka Doncic Talks Leading Slovenia To Its First Olympics
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has led the Slovenian men’s basketball team to the Olympics for the first time ever. Slovenia defeated Domantas Sabonis, Jonas Valanciunas and Lithuania, 96-85, in Kaunas to secure one of the final four spots in Tokyo.
Doncic racked up a triple-double, scoring a game-high 31 points, dishing out 13 assists and grabbing 11 rebounds in the win.
Memphis Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas led the way for Lithuania with 14 points. Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis added nine. Lithuania had competed at every Olympic Games since 1992.
Luka Doncic posts 31 point triple double as Slovenia advances to Olympics
Luka Doncic led Slovenia past Lithuania in the FIBA qualifying final and into the Olympics for the first time ever.
Split, Croatia: Germany 75, Brazil 64
Orlando Magic forward Moritz Wagner carried Germany to the Olympics for the first time since 2008, scoring 28 points on 7-of-11 shooting as the Germans defeated Brazil in the final in Croatia.
Longtime Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao scored 14 points to lead Brazil.
Germany reached the final after a hard-fought 86-76 win over host Croatia in the semifinal round, a game that saw Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic score 38 points in defeat.
Moritz Wagner leads Germany to Olympics
Moritz Wagner scored 28 points to lead Germany to the Olympics for the first time since 2008.
Belgrade, Serbia: Italy 102, Serbia 95
Golden State Warriors guard Nico Mannion scored 24 points to lead Italy to the Olympics for the first time since 2004, as the Azzurri knocked out 2016 Olympic silver medalist Serbia.
Forwards Achille Polonara and Simone Fontecchio added 22 and 21 points respectively, and Italy knocked down 14 three-pointers to defeat the host Serbians in Belgrade. Mavericks forward Nicolo Melli added five points in 20 minutes for Italy.
Nico Mannion’s Postgame Interview After Italy Heading To Olympics
Nico Mannion's Postgame Interview After Italy Heading To Olympics
Victoria, Canada: Czech Republic 97, Greece 72
The Czech Republic qualified for its first-ever Olympic Games after knocking out Greece 97-72 to take the final spot in the qualifying tournament. Chicago Bulls guard Tomas Satoransky recorded 12 points in the team’s win.
The Czech Republic reached Sunday’s final after Satoransky banked home a game-winner in overtime to send host Canada home, 103-101. That shot will go down in Czech Republic basketball history as Satoransky hopes to continue his momentum into Tokyo.
