GREECE, — Buddy Hield and the Bahamas are a step closer to the Paris Olympics. Luka Doncic and Slovenia are now facing an uphill battle to get there.
in the men’s basketball field for the Paris Olympics. Other tournaments are being held in Latvia and Puerto Rico, both of them also starting on Tuesday. Group play at all four sites continues through Thursday, with semifinal games Saturday and four games with Olympic berths on the line set for Sunday.
Croatia can qualify for the semifinals on Wednesday with a win over New Zealand. Slovenia must beat New Zealand on Thursday to have any chance of keeping its Olympic hopes alive. “It's an honor for me to play for my country,” Doncic said. “A lot of times, there's going to be injuries. But I just see a big honor for me to play for my country. We're 2 million people and to represent my country, it means everything to me.”
At Valencia, host Spain rolled behind 17 points from Santi Aldama, 15 from Usman Garuba and 14 from Jaime Pradilla. Spain can wrap up a spot in the semifinals with a win over Angola on Wednesday.At Riga, Latvia, Brazil trailed for most of the game but outscored Montenegro 29-16 in the fourth quarter to pull off the comeback.Nikola Vucevic led Montenegro with 17 points and 13 rebounds.