Doncic, Slovenia roll to easy Olympic qualifying win
Luka Doncic only played 17 minutes, checking out for good midway through the third quarter
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Luka Doncic barely had to play in Slovenia’s Olympic qualifying tournament debut.
Zoran Dragic scored 16 points, Doncic and Vlatko Cancar each added 13 and Slovenia rolled past Angola 118-68 on Wednesday during qualifying play at Kaunas, Lithuania. Doncic only played 17 minutes, checking out for good midway through the third quarter.
"We had a great start," Doncic said.
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The qualifying tournaments going on this week — taking place in Lithuania, Croatia, Serbia and Canada — will determine the final four teams in the men’s field for the Tokyo Olympics. Group play runs through Thursday, followed by semifinals on Saturday at all four sites and finals a day later.
The winners of those four games on Sunday, one team from each site, will be the final additions to the Olympic tournament.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Yanick Moreira scored 15 points for Angola, which was eliminated from Olympic contention with the loss.
Records: Slovenia 1-0, Angola 0-2.
Up next: Slovenia plays Poland on Thursday. Both teams will advance to Saturday’s Kaunas region semifinals.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VENEZUELA 94, SOUTH KOREA 80
Also at Kaunas on Wednesday, Venezuela had a 21-point lead in the third quarter trimmed to one before hanging on to defeat South Korea.
Venezuela led 59-38 early in the third before South Korea went on a 26-6 run, drawing within 65-64 on a 3-pointer from Byeon Junhyeong late in the quarter. But Venezuela never lost the lead, and outscored the South Koreans 29-16 in the final 11 minutes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Heissler Guillent led Venezuela with 17 points, while Pedro Chourlo and Michael Carrera each had 16.
Records: Venezuela 1-1, South Korea 0-1.
Up next: South Korea plays Lithuania on Thursday. FIBA said Venezuela will advance to Saturday’s semifinals, which means the South Korea-Lithuania winner will as well.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SPLIT, CROATIA BRACKET
MEXICO 72, RUSSIA 64
Mexico outscored Russia 19-7 in the third quarter, the decisive 10 minutes in what became an eight-point win.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Francisco Cruz scored 21 points for Mexico. Semen Antonov led Russia with 13 points.
Mexico trailed 38-31 early in the third quarter, then finished on a 41-26 run.
Records: Mexico 1-1, Russia 0-1.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Up next: Russia faces Germany on Thursday in a must-win game for their Olympic hopes.
BRAZIL 94, CROATIA 67
Rafael Hettsheimer scored 20 points and Brazil rolled into a semifinal spot. Bruno Caboclo added 17 points for Brazil, which is now off until Saturday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bojan Bogdanovic scored 16 for Croatia.
Records: Brazil 2-0, Croatia 0-1.
Up next: Croatia faces a must-win game against Tunisia on Thursday.
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BELGRADE, SERBIA BRACKET
SERBIA 83, PHILIPPINES 76
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Boban Marjanovic had 25 points and 10 rebounds as Serbia moved into the semifinals with a hard-fought win.
Ognjen Dobric added 16 for the winners. Kakou Ange Franck Williams Kouame led the Philippines with 17 points.
Records: Serbia 2-0, Philippines 0-1.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Up next: The Philippines plays the Dominican Republic on Thursday in an elimination game.