For those unaware, there are four 6-team tournaments going on around the world right now (located in Canada, Serbia, Lithuania, and Croatia), and the winner of each tournament will qualify for the Olympics.
Each 6-team tournament was divided into two 3-team groups for round robin play, and the last place team in each group would be eliminated.
Canada Tournament
In Group A, Canada finish first at 2-0, Greece second at 1-1, and China was eliminated at 0-2 after getting blown out in both games. In Group B, Turkey finished first with Czech Repbulic in second, Uruguay was eliminated at 0-2.
Uruguay did have a spectacular fourth quarter comeback against the Czechs, down 14 with 7:30 left before falling just short with this shot rimmed out.
Semi-Finals: Canada vs. Czech Republic, Turkey vs. Greece.
Turkey/Greece should be a great matchup, and as a Canadian fan it made me feel good to see the Czech Republic get blown out by Turkey and struggle with a weak Uruguay squad. Anything can happen in single-game eliminations, but I think we'll see a Canada/Turkey final.
Croatia Tournament
Group A was extremely tight, with Germany coming first at 2-0 thanks to a pair of 4th-quarter comebacks and Mexico also qualifying at 1-1, meaning Russia is eliminated in a shocker. This makes back-to-back failures to reach the Olympics for Russia after winning bronze in 2012.
In Group B, Brazil blew the doors off both Tunisia (+26) and Croatia (+27) to win the group, and Croatia also advanced after barely escaping against Tunisia in a 5-point win.
Semi-Finals: Brazil vs. Mexico, Germany vs. Croatia. Brazil was the pre-tournament pick to get out of this group, and I think that still holds strong...not much more to add here.
Lithuania Tournament
In Group A, the host Lithuanians went 2-0, including a 39-point victory over South Korea. Venezuela took the second spot at 1-1, and South Korea was eliminated.
In Group B, Slovenia dominated with a 50-point win and a 35-point win to take the group, Poland finished second, and Angola (at a nice -69) was eliminated.
Semi-Finals: Lithuania vs. Poland, Slovenia vs. Venezuela. This group was always going to be Lithuania vs. Slovenia, and that's likely what we'll see as the finals. The Twin Towers of Sabonis and Valanciunas against Luka and friends. Slovenia is looking to qualify for the Olympics for the first time, while Lithuania will try to avoid failing to qualify for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Serbia Tournament
The host Serbians received a scare from the heavy underdog Philippines but still won Group A with a 2-0 record. Dominican Republic lost to Serbia by 18 but turned around and blew out the Philippines by 27 to take the second spot in the group.
In Group B, Senegal was forced to drop out at the last minute due to COVID issues, so the only game was played between Italy and Puerto Rico. Italy won 90-83 to win the group.
Semi-Finals: Serbia vs. Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic vs. Italy. This is really Serbia's group to lose, although Golden State fans should probably watch Italy so they can see young Nico Mannion do work (he finished with 21 points, 6 assists, and just 1 turnover against Puerto Rico). At the end of the day, Serbia has Boban, and as you can see in these highlights against the Philippines, he's been putting in some work.
Semi-Final games are tomorrow (July 3rd), Finals are the day after that.
For those curious, here's where the group winners will slot in the Olympic tournament:
Canada group winner joins Iran, France, and the United States in Group A
Croatia and Serbia winners join Australia and Nigeria in Group B
Lithuania group winner joins Argentina, Japan, and Spain in Group C.
The top two teams in each group plus the two best 3rd-place teams qualify for the knockout round.
So yeah, there's a super long write-up that I'm not sure anyone will read, but should be some intense basketball over the next couple days.
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