GIANNIS Antetokounmpo and Greece kept their Olympic hopes alive, and so did seven other squads, as the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament enters its final stretch on Sunday in four different venues.
Antetokounmpo and the Hellas turned a highly-anticipated semifinal showdown with Luka Doncic and Slovenia into a lopsided match, 96-68, to advance to the Greece OQT final opposite Croatia.
The two-time NBA MVP of the Milwaukee Bucks finished with 13 points and spearheaded the Greek's sizzling 13-0 run from which the Slovenians never recovered despite getting 21 points (5-of-9 from deep), seven rebounds, and five assists from Doncic.
The crowd of 11, 988 at the Peace and Friendship stadium were ecstatic at the end of the game as Croatia is now the only one that stands in between the Hellas and the Paris Olympics.
The Croatians, meanwhile, survived Dominican Republic in a hotly-contested semifinals, 80-77.
Former NBA player Mario Hezonja sank two clutch free throws with six seconds left to make it a three-point game for Croatia, and then watched as Chris Duarte missed a potential game-tying three which bounced in-and-out at the buzzer.
The LA Clippers’ Ivica Zubac led the Croatians with 25 points and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the field, while also adding nine rebounds.
Duarte of the Sacramento Kings finished with 17 points to show the way for Dominican Republic which was without its best player in Karl-Anthony Towns.
Upstart Bahamas challenges longtime power Spain
Over in Valencia, Spain, the host country also advanced to the finals, as big man Willy Hernangomez took charge down the stretch to power the Red One to an 81-74 win over Finland at the Pabellon Fuente De San Luis.
The 28-year-old Hernangomez, a former NBA All-Rookie first team member and 2022 FIBA EuroBasket MVP, finished with 28 points and five rebounds.
Four straight points by Hernangomez inside the final three minutes broke a tight 72-all contest and gave the home team the leeway to pull away from the Finnish.
The Red One take on the Bahamas in an interesting matchup for the right to advance to the Paris Games.
The Bahamians leaned on the 24-point and 15-rebound double-double of Portland Trail Blazers big man Deandre Ayton to eliminate Lebanon, 89-72.
Puerto Rico and Latvia OQTs
In Puerto Rico, the host set up a finals duel with Lithuania after the two teams routed their respective semifinals opponents.
Marius Grigonis top-scored with 23 points on 6-of-10 three-point shooting to propel Lithuania past Italy, 88-64, despite star player Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings finishing with only six points.
Tremont Waters then had 24 points, Jordan Howard had 20, and Jose Alvarado added 12 in Puerto Rico’s 98-78 runaway win over Mexico.
In Riga, Latvia, another home team advanced to the finals opposite Brazil after taking care of business against Cameroon, 72-59.
READ: Gilas denied Paris Olympics entry after running out of steam vs. Brazil
Brazil meanwhile, rallied from a first half deficit to end the Cinderella run of Gilas Pilipinas, 71-60.
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