Participating in the Olympic Games is the ultimate dream of any professional athlete, and if you manage to win one of the medals, this award will stand out. After all, you won it not only for yourself, but also for your country. Qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic basketball tournament continues. Teams from all over the world are fighting to get into the tournament. Who made it to the final stage of the tournament and who will definitely not go to France – in the material of the “Championship”.
Tournament 1 in Valencia (Spain)
Sergio Scariolo (coach of the Spanish national team)
Photo: fiba.basketball
The first group consisted of Spain, Lebanon and Angola. I think everyone has a clear idea of who the main favourites were in this group. The Spaniards easily beat both opponents and reached the finals from first place. Second place was taken by Lebanon, which proved to be stronger in the direct confrontation with Angola. In the other group, the Bahamas showed that they are serious, beating both Poland and Finland. In the match for second place, the Finns were stronger than the Poles and reached the finals of the tournament.
The top two teams from the group stage advance to the finals. The first place team from one group will play the second place team from the other. The following semi-final pairings were formed: Bahamas – Lebanon and Spain – Finland. In each of the pairings the favorite is quite obvious, but this is a sport and anything can happen.
Tournament 2 in Riga (Latvia)
Luka Banki (Latvian national team coach)
Photo: fiba.basketball
Latvia, Georgia and the Philippines competed for a place in the finals of the tournament. It seemed that the hosts of the mini-tournament should calmly move on after defeating the Georgians 83:55, but Latvia’s defeat by the Philippines made everyone nervous. First of all, due to the fact that each team finished with one win and one loss, we had to determine who would go further based on the difference in points scored and points lost. As a result, Latvia took first place, the Philippines took second, and Georgia said goodbye to its hopes of participating in the Olympics.
Brazil, Cameroon and Montenegro faced each other in the second group of the qualifying tournament in Riga. These teams faced exactly the same situation: each team won and lost once. As a result, Brazil, thanks to a better difference, finished first, Cameroon second, and Montenegro was left with nothing. The semi-final pairings were as follows: Brazil – Philippines, Latvia – Cameroon.
Tournament 3 in Piraeus (Greece)
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Photo: fiba.basketball
The group, which included Slovenia, Croatia and New Zealand, turned out to be one of the most interesting. After all, the modest team from Oceania caused quite a stir: they beat Croatia, which had already beaten Slovenia, and claimed to reach the finals until the very end. The fate of the group depended on the match between New Zealand and Luka Doncic’s team. The Dallas guard showed why he is one of the best in the world at the moment, achieving a triple-double of 36 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as his team won 104-78, securing their exit from second place. The first was eventually occupied by the Croatians.
Greece fought its way to the finals with Egypt and the Dominican Republic. The European team, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, easily defeated the Dominican Republic without Karl-Anthony Towns (109:82) and then calmly extinguished Egypt’s Olympic hopes (93:71). By the way, in the last group game, Grick Freak was not even needed, Antetokounmpo did not appear on the court and his team still won confidently. Following the results of the group tournament, Greece and the Dominican Republic made it to the finals. The pairings were as follows: Greece – Slovenia and Croatia – the Dominican Republic. Antetokounmpo vs Doncic: the fun begins!
Tournament 4 in San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Domantas Sabonis (No. 11)
Photo: fiba.basketball
The Lithuanian team led by Domantos Sabonis won the first group. The Europeans beat Mexico, who finished second in the group, and Ivory Coast, who were eliminated from the tournament. In the other group, after Italy achieved the biggest victory in the history of Olympic qualification, beating Bahrain 114:53, it seemed that Puerto Rico could not hold out against Gianmarco Pozzecco’s men. But how many were wrong: the Central American team not only easily defeated group outsider Bahrain, but also won the final match against the Italians. No wonder, because the selection takes place in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico.
Thus, we have the following pairings: Italy – Lithuania and Puerto Rico – Mexico. The battle between the European teams will be exciting, since one of them will definitely not go to the Olympic Games.
On July 6, Brazil and the Philippines will open the finals of the Olympic selection, and at 17:30 Moscow time we will all be looking forward to an incredible battle between Greece and Slovenia for the final qualifying round. Vassilis Spanoulis’ men have not been to the Olympics since 2008, so Giannis and Co. will have to give it their all to beat Doncic and his team. And in the evening we will see the clash between Finland and Spain, also a very interesting match between European teams. In general, the selection for the Olympic Games is moving towards the final, and very soon we will know the four holders of the last tickets for the most important tournament of the four years.
What did the Italians do?
This has never happened before! Italy showed its opponent in the Olympic qualification
