The new Milan signing and his teammates will come up against Greece in the last four
Josh Nebo shines as Slovenia locks up place in the semifinals
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For Josh Nebo, it's been an interesting few weeks. The athletic center was able to obtain Slovenian citizenship on June 19, just 15 days ago, and then completed his move to EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on June 24 after deciding to move on from Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.
A few days later, it was confirmed that Mike Tobey would not be part of Slovenia's squad for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus, Greece, freeing up Nebo to come in. He did not have a dream debut in Slovenia's colors, though, losing 92-108 to Croatia on Tuesday night, having scored 12 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.
Nebo was able to have more joy on Thursday night, however, as he posted a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double in a 78-104 win for Slovenia which guarantees the nation's spot in the semifinals against Greece. The 26-year-old was lethal from inside the paint, going 10 for 15 on two-pointers, while he also had 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block.
His performance was complimented by a star display from 2017-18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP Luka Doncic, who had 36 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, good for a triple-double.
EuroLeague, EuroCup stars step up for Greece
Greece officially clinched its place in the semifinals of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus, Greece, after beating Egypt 93-71. With EuroLeague legend Vassilis Spanoulis as head coach, Greece relied on a number of stars from the EuroLeague and BKT EuroCup during its victory.
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens's Konstantinos Mitoglou and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul's Georgios Papagiannis netted 16 points apiece, Olympiacos Piraeus's Kostas Papanikolaou scored 15 points, new Turk Telekom Ankara signing Vasilis Charalampopoulos added 13 points, and Olympiacos guard Giannoulis Larentzakis chipped in with 12 points. In the semifinals, Greece will take on Slovenia.
Jantunen fires Finland into the semifinals
Paris Basketball forward Mikael Jantunen inspired Finland to an 88-89 win over Poland on Thursday night, which secured Finland's spot in the semifinals and saw Poland's Olympic hopes come to an end. Finland led 0-2 and 2-4 in the opening stages of the game, then trailed until the final seconds, when Jantunen's team went 86-87 ahead on a three-pointer and then 88-89 up thanks to a pair of free throws.
Jantunen amassed 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in a team-high 32:34 minutes. For Poland, Panathinaikos's Olek Balcerowski recorded 1 point, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block in just over 20 minutes, while Trefl Sopot's Jaroslaw Zyskowski had 4 points in 2:38 minutes. In the semifinals, Finland will take on Spain.
Lopez helps Mexico reach the semifinals
Joventut Badalona youngster Karim Lopez was one of Mexico's star performers as the North American country downed Côte d'Ivoire 81-92 on Thursday night. The 17-year-old finished with 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 27:26 minutes on the floor. Mexico will take on Puerto Rico in the semifinals.
Italy suffers defeat, still makes last four
An Italy team featuring five EuroLeague players – Milan's Stefano Tonut and Giampaolo Ricci, Virtus Segafredo Bologna's Alessandro Pajola and Achille Polonara, and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul's Nicolo Melli – fell 80-69 to Puerto Rico in the early hours of Friday morning. However, despite the loss, Italy is still into the semifinals, where it will take on Lithuania.
Melli had 7 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal; Tonut posted 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal; Ricci amassed 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal; Polonara amassed 3 points, 1 rebound and 1 steal; and Pajola recorded 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal.
Shengelia, Georgia come up just short
Georgia came into its final group stage game knowing that it needed to win by 19 or more points against the Philippines, but it was only able to secure a two-point victory, coming out on top 94-96 in Riga, Latvia.
Virtus star Toko Shengelia did his best on Thursday evening, recording 17 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists, but his nation's heavy 55-83 defeat to Latvia on Tuesday meant it was always going to be a tough ask. Georgia's dream of reaching its first-ever Olympic Games goes on.
Yago, Caboclo feature for Brazil in bittersweet defeat
Brazil knew that it needed to beat Cameroon or lose by no more than 14 points in order to reach the semifinals. Well, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade's Yago Dos Santos, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade's Bruno Caboclo and ratiopharm Ulm's Georginho de Paula ended up suffering a 77-74 defeat, yet that was still enough for the South American nation to make it to the semifinals, where it will take on the Philippines.
Yago ended up finishing with 6 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, while Caboclo had 10 points and 4 rebounds, with both playing for 24 minutes. Georginho, meanwhile, saw just 3:38 minutes of game time.