The group stages of the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers in Turin and Belgrade have been completed and the semi-final picture is set for Friday.
TURIN:
Croatia joined Italy into the semi-finals of the Olympic Qualifiers from Group B after they beat Tunisia 72-52 in a win or go home game.
In a low scoring first half, Croatia broke clear in the third period, outscoring their African counterparts 22-12 and put the game beyond any doubt.
Bojan Bogdanovic posted a game-high 25 points for the winners. Tunisia, who competed at the Olympic Games in 2012, are eliminated.
And in the battle for first place in Group A, Greece overcame a slow start to beat Mexico 86-70 to finish top. Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the Greeks with a game-high 21 points.
Both teams however qualified from the pool with Iran being eliminated.
Semi-Final Line-Up (Turin):
Italy vs Mexico; Croatia vs Greece
BELGRADE:
Hosts Serbia advanced, as expected from Group A with a comfortable 83-60 win over Angola who are eliminated from Olympic contention.
As a result, Puerto Rico also advance as runners-up.
Nikola Jokic led the way for Serbia with 17 points and six rebounds as they passed the ball sublimely, collecting 24 assists and with the ability to find the open man for a three-point attempt, Serbia hit nine of their first 15 attempts from three-point land en route to the win.
In a win or go home contest, Czech Republic were able to come away with a reasonably comfortable 87-71 win over a plucky Japan side who are eliminated.
Japan reduced an 18-point first-half deficit to 55-45 midway through the third quarter, but a Tomas Satoransky jumper sparked an 8-0 Czech run that poured cold water over the Asian team’s hopes for an epic comeback.
Lukas Palyza paced the winners with 22 points.
Semi-Final Line-Up (Belgrade)
Serbia vs Czech Republic; Latvia vs Puerto Rico
