MIES (Switzerland) - Czechia, Germany, Italy and Slovenia made sure there were no home sweet home feelings at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in 2020 as all four countries won their events - and booked their tickets to the Tokyo Olympics - to the despair of the hosting nations.
Czechia reached the Olympics for the first time in history as they won the OQT Victoria in Canada while Germany ended a 12-year Olympics wait by winning the OQT in Split, Croatia.
Italy had gone even longer without an Olympics appearance - since 2004 - before claiming the title at the OQT in Belgrade, Serbia. And Slovenia clinched their first ever Olympics ticket by disappointing the home crowd in Kaunas, Lithuania.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the OQTs were moved from June 23-28, 2020 to June 29-July 4, 2021.
Czechia clinches ticket in Canada
Canada had not made the Olympics since 2000 and were hoping the fans in Victoria would carry them to victories. The hosts did beat Greece and China in group play while Türkiye claimed Group B honors with two wins, including an 87-70 triumph over the Czechs.
Czechia bounced back in fine fashion - much to the dismay of the home crowd - with a 103-101 overtime victory over Canada in the Semi-Finals.
Canada trailed by 10 points with 57 seconds left in the fourth quarter and were down six with 22 seconds to play. But Andrew Wiggins converted a three-point play and buried a three-pointer to force overtime. Tomas Satoransky however kill the Olympic dreams of Canadians by making the game-winning jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining for the win.
Greece breeze past Türkiye 81-63 in the other Semi but could not overcome the Czechs in the Final. Czechia were already in control and blew the game open with a 31-11 third quarter for a 97-72 win over Greece to reach their first Olympics after having just made their FIBA Basketball World Cup debut in 2019.
Germany save best for fourth quarter, down Brazil for Olympics ticket
Split will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Germany fans as Deutschland came to Croatia missing star guard Dennis Schroder due to an insurance dispute but Germany still came home with the ticket to the Tokyo Olympics.
Schroder was present in Spilt to support the team and Germany proved to be the kings of the fourth quarter. They won their opening game against Mexico 82-76 after a 20-9 final frame. The Germans won their second game as well, 69-67 over Russia with a 19-14 fourth quarter to take Group A top honors.
Group B was pretty clear with Brazil grabbing wins by 26 and 27 points and hosts Croatia taking second place. In the Semi-Finals, Croatia were up 63-56 after 30 minutes but Germany pulled off their fourth quarter magic again, taking the final stanza 30-13 for an 86-76 win.
Brazil added a 28-point win over Mexico in the Semi-Finals but in the Final they were unable to roll offensively against the tough Germans. This time Germany did most of the work in the first 30 minutes to lead 52-46. Brazil never really closed the gap any further in the fourth quarter and Germany won 75-64 to get back to the Olympics for the first time since 2008 - when they also went through the OQT in Athens.
Doncic, Slovenia spoil Lithuania's OQT party in Kaunas, reach first Olympics
Slovenia arrived in Kaunas hoping their superstar Luka Doncic could carry them to their first Olympics. The group stage went as expected with Lithuania going 2-0 against Venezuela and Korea while Slovenia totaled 230 points in two blowout wins over Angola and Poland.
Slovenia and Lithuania both eased through the Semi-Finals as well - the former with a 98-70 win over Venezuela and Lithuania downing Poland 88-69 - to set up a tantalizing matchup in the Final in front of 11,561 fans at the Zalgiris Arena.
Slovenia laid the foundation for the victory with a 28-17 third quarter in a 96-85 win over Lithuania. The 22-year-old Doncic did not disappoint with a spectacular triple-double of 31 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists to earn Slovenia the Olympics ticket.
Italy shock Belgrade crowd with Final win over Serbia
Belgrade welcomed one of the OQTs with the clear intention that Serbia would garner a spot in the Tokyo Olympics with Igor Kokoskov's team being the clear favorites. But Italy got in the way of those plans and shocked the hosts to make a return trip to the Olympics for the first time since taking silver at the 2004 Athens Games.
Serbia had little trouble in the group stage with easy wins over Dominican Republic and Philippines while Italy beat Puerto Rico 90-83 in the only game of Group B after Senegal withdrew from the competition due to a series of Covid-19 positive cases in the build-up.
Both Italy and Serbia breezed through the Semi-Finals beating their Latin American opponents - Italy 102-84 over Puerto Rico and Serbia 79-59 against Dominican Republic - to reach the Final.
The title game did not go as the home fans as hoped as Italy led by six points after 10 minutes and by 12 points at half-time. The advantage grew to as many as 24 points in the third quarter before Serbia fought back to make it more respectable but in the end it was a 102-95 Italy win and the Italians were Tokyo bound.
FIBA