Thomas Walkup scored 19 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo added 13 in 21 minutes, and Greece moved closer to a victory to secure their ticket to the Paris Olympics by eliminating Luka Doncic and Slovenia 96-68 on Saturday in the pre-Olympic semifinal.
Doncic finished with 21 points in the game held in Piraeus, Greece, which was the first time two NBA superstars faced each other with their national teams.
This is one of the eight semifinals taking place around the world to determine the final four spots for the men’s tournament in Paris.
Greece will face the winner of the match between the Dominican Republic and Croatia in the final on Sunday.
The other semifinals are being played in Spain, Latvia, and Puerto Rico.
Doncic, who played in the NBA Finals with the Dallas Mavericks despite injuries, averaged 31 points in Slovenia’s first two games. However, he didn’t have the same impact on Saturday.
Slovenia found themselves in a tough spot after the Greeks scored the first 13 points and led 31-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Greece extended their lead to 23 points in the second period before the Slovenians cut the deficit to 47-33 at halftime.
But the Greeks had an 11-3 run in the third quarter to widen their lead and entered the fourth quarter up by 16 points.
In Riga, Latvia, Bruno Caboclo had 15 points and 11 rebounds as Brazil topped the Philippines 71-60 to advance to the tournament final.
Marcelinho Huertas added 13 points to keep Brazil’s hopes alive of participating in their first Olympics since 2016.
Now, Brazil awaits their final opponent from the match between Cameroon and Latvia.
Greece came out fast again in the third, using a 11-3 run to get some distance and carried a 16-point edge into the fourth quarter.
Fuente: Diario Libre
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