FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2016: Saturday Basketball Results, Highlights

The biggest day of action from the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament features two teams looking to punch their tickets to Rio de Janeiro next month and two more semifinals with teams seeking the right to play on Sunday.  

The Philippines tournament took center stage early, with semifinal matchups featuring Canada vs. New Zealand and France vs. Turkey. 

After those four teams went through their business, the tournaments in Italy and Serbia will crown champions and celebrate a trip to the Olympics.

Here's a look at how things played out for the teams with dreams of playing on the biggest stage in sports.

Host Country	Matchup	Result
Philippines (Semifinal)	Canada vs. New Zealand	Canada def. New Zealand, 78-72
Philippines (Semifinal)	France vs. Turkey	France def. Turkey, 75-63
Serbia (Final)	Serbia vs. Puerto Rico	Serbia def. Puerto Rico, 108-77
Italy (Final)	Croatia vs. Italy	Croatia def. Italy, 84-78 (OT)

Croatia 84, Italy 78 (OT)

Croatia needed overtime to defeat Italy and secure its spot in the 2016 Olympics for the fourth time since 1992. 

Italy was able to stave off elimination at the end of the fourth quarter thanks to Nicolo Melli's tip-in basket with five seconds remaining to tie the score at 70. 

There was a moment late in the fourth quarter when it looked like Italy was on the verge of stealing a victory on this excellent pass from Danilo Gallinari to Nicolo Melli, via FIBA:

The overtime period started with Croatia going on a 10-4 run to open things up. Bojan Bogdanovic drilled a three with 74 seconds remaining to cap off that run. The Brooklyn Nets guard-forward had a game-high 26 points, though he went just 6-of-19 from the field. 

Dario Saric was the difference-maker for Croatia. He had a double-double with 18 points, 13 rebounds and was named MVP of the Turin tournament. That's a pretty good way to get Philadelphia 76ers fans excited about their new foreign sensation.

ESPN's Fran Fraschilla did take a shot at the Sixers when analyzing Saric's game:

Saric does seem to fit in with the style of basketball the San Antonio Spurs say, which is just team-oriented, crisp passing and the ability to finish at the basket. 

Italy's undoing in the game was its inability to hit shots from behind the arc. It went just 5-of-21 from three-point range. Croatia wasn't lights out from distance, but the nine three-pointers made out of 26 attempts gave it 12 extra points to secure the win. 

This wasn't a crisp performance for the Croatian team, but at this point being able to survive and advance is all that matters. They will happily take an ugly win with their trip to Rio locked up. 

Serbia 108, Puerto Rico 77

Serbia's run of dominance culminated in a 108-77 thrashing of Puerto Rico to secure the country's first Olympic berth in men's basketball since 2004. 

The game was over nearly as soon as it started, with Serbia jumping out to a 37-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Serbians put things on cruise control in the second half, but were still able to make an emphatic statement about their standing in the world rankings. 

There was just an ease to Serbia's game, especially on offense, with precise and dazzling ball movement on plays like this, via FIBA:

As has been the case throughout the tournament, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nikola Jokic were unstoppable forces. The duo combined for 49 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists. 

Jokic's performance during the four games led to him being named MVP of the tournament. ESPN's Fran Fraschilla even brought in some optimism for Jokic's NBA team:

It's hard for a player in Denver to become a superstar because the franchise has been mired in a rut for years, but Jokic is a foundation piece and is proving it this summer. 

While all the focus from this win will be on Serbia's offense, it's important to highlight the defensive prowess of the team. It held Puerto Rico to 38 percent shooting overall, forced 18 turnovers and had nine steals. 

Combining everything together, Serbia looks like a force to be reckoned with when the Olympics begin in August. The country has been slowly making its mark in world basketball, with this win being the cherry on top.

Canada 78, New Zealand 72

Canada is one win away from its first trip to the Olympics in men's basketball since a seventh-place finish in 2000 after knocking off New Zealand, 78-72, in a tense back-and-forth battle. 

New Zealand will be kicking itself for a long time over this final result after missed opportunities late in the fourth quarter. The New Zealanders tied the score at 71 on a dunk by Thomas Abercrombie, but Tristan Thompson made two free throws on the next possession to give Canada a 73-71 lead. 

After the Canadians took their lead, New Zealand went ice cold from the field. It missed each of its last five field-goal attempts over the final three-and-a-half minutes. 

Thompson was the star of this game for Canada. The Cleveland Cavaliers star had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, his first of the tournament. He came into the game shooting just 31.5 percent from the field in the first two games but was 4-of-5 against New Zealand. 

Rebounding made a huge difference in the game. New Zealand entered Saturday after out-rebounding France 47-36 two days ago, but Canada had a 47-42 edge on the glass in its win. 

Cory Joseph led Canada's offense with 23 points, his second time breaking the 20-point barrier in three tournament games. 

Josh Lewenberg of TSN 1050 broke down all of the impressive offensive numbers for Joseph so far in the tournament:

A difficult task awaits Canada in the finals, as France is the fifth-ranked team in the world and boasts a loaded roster with Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, Nando de Colo and Nicolas Batum. If you want to earn the right to play on the biggest stage, you have to beat the best the world has to offer. 

Canada will find that out, one way or another, on Sunday. 

France 75, Turkey 63

France made an emphatic statement in the semifinals with its most complete performance in a 75-63 win over Turkey. 

After tight single-digit wins in their first two games, the French had more breathing room on Saturday. They shot 51.7 percent from the field with four players scoring in double figures, led by Thomas Heurtel with 17 points (12 in the fourth quarter). 

France's bench was tremendous in the victory, outscoring Turkey 42-18. The high shooting percentage and performance from the reserves offset 14 offensive rebounds from the Turkish squad. 

Turkey did cut France's deficit to four at 37-33 with just over nine minutes remaining in the third quarter, but that was as close it got. 

The next three minutes saw France go on a 10-0 run that extended the lead to 14 points, capped off by a Joffrey Lauvergne layup following a Parker steal. 

Lewenberg highlighted the top story heading into France's showdown with Canada in the finals:

Joseph was a solid backup with the San Antonio Spurs for four years before signing with the Toronto Raptors last summer. He proceeded to have the best year of his career with 8.5 points, 3.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 80 games.

Parker did not have his best game on Saturday with just two points and three assists in 19 minutes. He will need to perform better than that if France hopes to secure an Olympic bid against a Canada team riding high.