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    Serbia, Italy dispute Olympic spot in Belgrade OQT finale

    Serbia faces Italy in Belgrade Olympic Qualifying final
    Jul 4, 2021
    PHOTO: fiba.basketball

    SERBIA continued to roll in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, taking down Puerto Rico, 102-84, on Saturday at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall to books its spot in the final.

    Euroleague MVP Vasilije Micic had 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe, and dished out eight assists as the Serbians cruised to the championship game.

    Miami Heat forward Nemanja Bjelica fired 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep, to go with seven rebounds to make up for his absence in the game against Gilas Pilipinas.

    Danilo Andjusic had 15 points and two assists for the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalists.

    It was the dominating performance many people were waiting for from world No. 5 Serbia, with Bjelica's buzzer-beating three to end the first quarter sending the electrifying jolt for his team as it staged a 23-14 second quarter to grab a 51-40 halftime lead.

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      SIZZLING SERBIA

      The Eagles led by as many as 19 points as they run out the Puerto Ricans, 22-4 on fastbreak points, while also going 12-of-27 from threes.

      Filip Petrusev finally shook off his cobwebs and tallied 15 points and eight rebounds for Serbia, as Milos Teodosic orchestrated the offense with his double-double of 11 points and 10 assists to make up for the silent five-point, four-rebound night of Dallas Mavericks center Boban Marjanovic.

      Isaiah Pineiro led Puerto Rico with 23 points on 3-of-4 shooting from threes, four rebounds, and two assists.

      George Conditt also had 20 points and three boards, while Gary Browne recorded 12 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, and two steals in the semis exit.

      The Serbia win set it up for a championship clash against Italy, which drubbed Dominican Republic, 79-59.

      Nemanja Bjelica

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      Simone Fontecchio drained his three three-pointers to finish with 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists in a blazing performance for the Italians, who went 13-of-25 from beyond the arc.

      Stefano Tonut scored 14 points and made three assists, Achille Polonara had nine points and five rebounds, and Golden State Warriors guard Nico Mannion had eight points, two boards, and two assists for the Azzurri.

      Italy unleashed a killer 17-0 run to grab a 59-30 lead, which eventually turned to a 24-8 third quarter blast that further increased the lead to a 66-38 advantage to spell doom for the Dominicana.

      Brandone Edward Francis Ramirez led Dominican Republic with 12 points on 2-of-6 clip from downtown, to go with three rebounds, as Adonys Henriquez scored 10 points.

      Gelvis Solano and Victor Liz were stifled in this semis duel, combining for only 10 points.

      Serbia and Italy face off on Sunday for the Belgrade OQT final, with the winner punching the lone ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

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      PHOTO: fiba.basketball
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