FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2016: Wednesday Results and Highlights
A few countries kept their 2016 Olympic dreams alive in FIBA qualifying tournaments on Wednesday, while a few others saw their hopes dashed in a busy and important day in Italy, the Philippines and Serbia.
Below, we'll take a look at the day's results, updated tables and top highlights.
Results
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| Italy | Greece | 86-70 | Mexico |
| Italy | Croatia | 72-52 | Tunisia |
| Philippines | New Zealand | 89-80 | Philippines |
| Philippines | Canada | 58-55 | Senegal |
| Serbia | Serbia | 83-60 | Angola |
| Serbia | Czech Republic | 87-71 | Japan |
Italy Qualifying
| Team | W | L | PTS |
| Greece | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Mexico | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Iran | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Team | W | L | PTS |
| Italy | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Croatia | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Tunisia | 0 | 2 | 2 |
The semifinals on Friday are now set. Greece will face Croatia, and Italy will take on Mexico.
The Greeks assured their place atop Group A with an 86-70 win over Mexico on Wednesday behind a huge performance from Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who posted 21 points, five rebounds and two blocks.
Ioannis Bourousis was also excellent for the Greeks, posting 16 points and nine boards, while Nick Calathes contributed seven points and seven assists. And the Greeks threw quite the block party, via FIBA:
Francisco Cruz led the way for Mexico with 19 points.
In the day's other game, Croatia cruised to a 72-52 win over Tunisia, as Brooklyn Nets forward Bojan Bogdanovic went off for 25 points, three points, two steals and two assists.
Future Philadelphia 76ers power forward Dario Saric added 11 points and nine rebounds, while Orlando Magic guard Mario Hezonja was relatively quiet, accumulating three points, two assists, two rebounds and a steal.
Michael Brandon Roll led the way for Tunisia with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Philippines Qualifying
| Team | W | L | PTS |
| Canada | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Senegal | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Turkey | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Team | W | L | PTS |
| France | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Philippines | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Canada locked away its place in the knockout phase, sneaking past Senegal 58-55.
Melvin Ejim (11 points, eight rebounds), Cory Joseph (13 points, five rebounds, two assists) and Tristan Thompson (seven points, 10 rebounds, one block) led the way for the Canadians.
Maurice Ndour led the way for Senegal with 16 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and two assists.
In the day's other matchup, the Philippines saw their tournament draw to a close and Olympic hopes shattered in disappointing fashion with an 89-80 loss to New Zealand.
Andray Blatche tried to will Gilas Pilipinas to the victory, scoring 30 points and adding seven rebounds. But New Zealand's Tai Jack Webster was nearly as good, accumulating 25 points, 11 boards and three assists.
France and New Zealand are now locks for the knockout phase, though top place in Group B is still up for grabs when the teams face off on Thursday, while Senegal and Turkey will be playing for a place in the semifinals on Thursday as well.
Serbia Qualifying
| Team | W | L | PTS |
| Serbia | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Puerto Rico | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Angola | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Team | W | L | PTS |
| Latvia | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Czech Republic | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Japan | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Serbia and the Czech Republic clinched their places in the semifinals with wins on Wednesday.
Serbia knocked off Angola, 83-60. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the way for Serbia with 12 points, eight assists and four rebounds, while Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was fantastic, scoring a game-high 17 points to go along with six rebounds.
Reggie Moore was the only player from Angola to reach double-digit points, scoring 10.
In the day's other game, the Czech Republic stayed alive, beating Japan 87-81 behind 22 points and five rebounds from Lukas Palyza.
Yuta Watanabe did a bit of everything for Japan, meanwhile, notching 10 points, seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
Latvia will now face Puerto Rico in the first semifinal on Friday, with Serbia taking on the Czech Republic later that day in the second semifinal.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
