Giannis Antetokounmpo looked like the kind of player looking to lead Greece to their first Olympic appearance since 2008.
Antetokounmpo scored 32 points on 11-of-11 shooting from the field in 19 minutes and Greece beat the Dominican Republic 109-82 on Wednesday in Group B of the Piraeus (Greece) Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Thomas Walkup added 17 points for Greece, which led by as many as 27 points and can reach the semi-finals with a win over Egypt on Thursday.
“Giannis loves being here. He loves representing his country,” Greece coach Vassilis Spanoulis said. “He's very humble. He's part of the team. For a superstar, this is not easy. … He's obsessed with winning.”
The tournament in Greece is one of four that began Tuesday to determine the final four spots in men's basketball at the Paris Olympics. The others are in Latvia, Puerto Rico and Spain.
Group play across four venues will continue until Thursday, with the semi-finals on Saturday and the final on Sunday.
Playing in the Olympics is one of the few things Antetokounmpo has yet to accomplish in his basketball career.
He didn't seem bothered Wednesday by the strained left calf that cost him a playoff appearance with the Milwaukee Bucks in April. He approached the rim with ease, making 9 of 13 free throws and his only 3-pointer.
New Zealand 90, Croatia 86
Croatia is on track to secure the last remaining Olympic berth, but not as strongly as they would have hoped.
New Zealand defeated Croatia 90-86 in Group A in Piraeus. Corey Webster scored 21 points and Shay Ili added 18 points, including a game-winning layup with one minute to go, to lead New Zealand to the victory.
“I think it's a brave win for our team,” New Zealand captain Reuben Te Rangi said.
Ivica Zubac had 29 points and 16 rebounds, Dario Saric had 19 points and eight rebounds and Mario Hezonja had 16 points for Croatia, which advanced to the semifinals by four points, but the loss put NBA star Luka Doncic and Slovenia in the running to win the championship.
Slovenia can advance to the semifinals of Group A if they beat New Zealand by 21 points on Thursday, otherwise New Zealand will advance.
Croatia defeated Slovenia 108-92 in their tournament opening match on Tuesday.
“It was tough after our emotional win against Slovenia,” Saric said of Wednesday's defeat. “We were hoping that it was a close match and we could turn the game in our direction, but that wasn't the case today.”
Montenegro 70, Cameroon 66
In Riga, Latvia, Montenegro started poorly but managed to beat Cameroon, 70-66, to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
Marko Simonovic had 18 points, six rebounds and made 9-of-9 free throws as five Montenegro players scored in double figures. Nikola Vucevic finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Cameroon will need to pull off a major upset against Brazil on Thursday to reach the semi-finals from Group B, or lose second place to Montenegro.
Cameroon led 32-29 at halftime, but Montenegro used a 15-2 run to open the third quarter with a 44-34 lead and never trailed after. Montenegro made 7 of 9 free throws in the final period and 20 of 24 for the game.
Fabien Quentin Philibert Ateba and Jordan Bayehe each scored 14 points to lead Cameroon.
Bahamas 90, Poland 81
Valdes Edgecomb Jr. scored 21 points, Deandre Ayton had 18 points and nine rebounds and the Bahamas advanced to the finals with a win over Poland in Valencia, Spain.
The Bahamas led by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter, made 13 3-pointers and assisted on 24 of 31 field goals. Buddy Hield had 17 points and 10 assists for the Tigers, who improved to 2-0 in Group B.
Poland and Finland will face off on Thursday to determine which team will emerge from their group to join the Bahamas in the semifinals.
Philippines 89, Latvia 80
Justin Brownlee had 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to help the Philippines hold off a late comeback to beat Latvia, 89-80, in Group A of the Latvian Tournament.
Kai Sotto added 18 points and eight rebounds.
Latvia trailed by as many as 26 points and then cut a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to 10 with 1 minute, 21 seconds left, but Latvia kept its cool and closed out the game.
Rodions Kurtz led Latvia with 18 points.
The Philippines face Georgia on Thursday as the favorite to win the group and advance to the knockout stage, after Latvia beat Georgia 83-55 on Tuesday.
Spain 89, Angola 81
Santiago Aldama scored 24 points and Spain defeated Angola 89-81 to win Group A and advance to the semi-finals of the Spanish La Liga.
Willy Hernangomez had 22 points and 10 rebounds. The winner of Thursday's game between Lebanon and Angola will advance to the knockout stage along with Spain.
Spain held a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter and Angola never got closer than six points after that.
Jillson Bango led Angola with 15 points and nine rebounds.
