Stats leaders: Who were the top performers at the OQTs?

    10 min to read
    Long Read

    The four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments were loaded with stars. Some showed it as leading players in various statistical categories.

    MIES (Switzerland) - Brazil, Greece, Spain and Puerto Rico tasted the thrill of victory at the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments on Sunday.

    In the process, they claimed the last four tickets to the men's basketball tournament at the Summer Games. Home advantage was important, too, except in Latvia, where Brazil beat the Baltic team in the Final. Otherwise, Greece prevailed at the OQT in Piraeus, Spain at the OQT in Valencia and the Puerto Rico at the OQT in San Juan.

    Which players carried the load, at least statistically, as countries claimed the last Olympic spots on offer?

    Leaders in Scoring

    Luka Doncic showed that even not at his best, he may still be the best by averaging 27.7 points per game

    Rank

    Name

    Team

    OQT

    GP

    MPG

    PPG

    PTS

    FG%

    3P%

    FT%

    1

    Luka Doncic

    SLO

    Greece

    3

    35.5

    27.7

    83

    38.7

    26.7

    77.1

    2

    Ahmed Metwaly

    EGY

    Greece

    2

    25.5

    23

    46

    54.2

    37.5

    93.3

     

    Shea Ili

    NZL

    Greece

    2

    27

    23

    46

    61.9

    80

    72.7

     

    Justin Brownlee

    PHI

    Latvia

    3

    38.3

    23

    69

    46.2

    43.5

    100

    5

    Ivica Zubac

    CEO

    Greece

    4

    29.8

    22.8

    91

    76.6

    0

    82.6

    6

    Giannis Antetokounmpo

    GRE

    Greece

    3

    22.5

    22.7

    68

    62.5

    50

    64

    7

    Alexander Mamukelashvili

    GEO

    Latvia

    2

    33.8

    20

    40

    61.5

    45.5

    75

    8

    Buddy Hield

    BAH

    Spain

    4

    34.3

    19.8

    79

    44.4

    36.6

    100

    9

    Deandre Ayton

    BAH

    Spain

    4

    35.3

    19.5

    78

    64.2

    20

    75

    10

    Christopher Theoret Duarte

    DOM

    Greece

    3

    32.6

    19

    57

    48.7

    35

    80

    This comes as no surprise, scoring machine Doncic with the highest scoring average - 27.7 points per game - of any player at the OQTs. Buckets poured in 36 points in a win over New Zealand that helped lift Slovenia into the Semi-Finals in Piraeus. The Greece OQT was the land of the big scorers because it had three other players in the top five, including point guards Shea Ili of New Zealand and Ahmed Metwaly (Doola) of Egypt, and intimidating Croatia center Ivica Zubac. Philippines stalwart Justin Brownlee was tied with Ili and Doola at 23 points per game.

    Leaders in Rebounding

    Vooch the rebound leader

    Rank

    Name

    Team

    OQT

    GP

    MPG

    OFF

    ORPG

    DEF

    DRPG

    REB

    RPG

    RP40M

    1

    Nikola Vucevic

    MNE

    Latvia

    2

    31.8

    9

    4.5

    18

    9

    27

    13.5

    17

    2

    Deandre Ayton

    BAH

    Spain

    4

    35.3

    13

    3.3

    34

    8.5

    47

    11.8

    13.4

    3

    Ivica Zubac

    CRO

    Greece

    4

    29.8

    14

    3.5

    31

    7.8

    45

    11.3

    15.2

    4

    Jilson Bango

    ANG

    Spain

    2

    28.5

    9

    4.5

    12

    6

    21

    10.5

    14.7

    5

    Bruno Fernando

    ANG

    Spain

    2

    29.8

    4

    2

    16

    8

    20

    10

    13.4

    6

    Luka Doncic

    SLO

    Greece

    3

    35.5

    2

    0.7

    27

    9

    29

    9.7

    10.9

    7

    Josh Nebo

    SLO

    Greece

    3

    30.2

    10

    3.3

    18

    6

    28

    9.3

    12.3

     

    Domantas Sabonis

    LTU

    Puerto Rico

    4

    25.5

    7

    1.8

    30

    7.5

    37

    9.3

    14.6

     

    Joshua Ibarra

    MEX

    Puerto Rico

    3

    28

    8

    2.7

    20

    6.7

    28

    9.3

    13.3

     

    Fabian Jaimes

    MEX

    Puerto Rico

    3

    38.2

    10

    3.3

    18

    6

    28

    9.3

    9.7

    The beast of the OQT boards was Nicola Vucevic, who averaged 13.5 rebounds per game for Montenegro in their two games. Deandre Ayton of the Bahamas and Ivica Zubac of Croatia were joint second at 11.3 rebounds per game. In Croatia's defeat to New Zealand, Zubac had 16 rebounds to go with his 29 points! There was also the one-two rebounding punch from Angola. Jilson Bango (10.5 rebounds per game) and Bruno Fernando (10.0 rebounds per game) were fourth and fifth, respectively.

    Leaders in Assists

    Calathes three times had 11 dimes, including against the Dominican Republic

    #

    PLAYERS

    Team

    OQT

    GP

    MPG

    AST

    APG

    AP40M

    AST/TO

    TO

    TOPG

    1

    Nick Calathes (GRE)

    GRE

    Greece

    4

    28.1

    42

    10.5

    15

    7

    6

    1.5

    2

    Paul Stoll (MEX)

    MEX

    Puerto Rico

    3

    35.6

    31

    10.3

    11.6

    2.8

    11

    3.7

    3

    Luka Doncic (SLO)

    SLO

    Greece

    3

    35.5

    25

    8.3

    9.4

    1.7

    15

    5

    4

    Lorenzo Brown (ESP)

    ESP

    Spain

    4

    23

    30

    7.5

    13.1

    3.3

    9

    2.3

    5

    Jeremiah Hill (CMR)

    CMR

    Latvia

    3

    34.2

    19

    6.3

    7.4

    1.7

    11

    3.7

     

    Justin Brownlee (PHI)

    PHI

    Latvia

    3

    38.3

    19

    6.3

    6.6

    2.1

    9

    3

    7

    Buddy Hield (BAH)

    BAH

    Spain

    4

    34.3

    23

    5.8

    6.8

    1.5

    15

    3.8

    8

    Dario Saric (CRO)

    CRO

    Greece

    4

    33.8

    22

    5.5

    6.5

    2.2

    10

    2.5

     

    Mateusz Ponitka (POL)

    POL

    Spain

    2

    29.8

    11

    5.5

    7.4

    5.5

    2

    1

     

    Assemian Moulare (CIV)

    CIV

    Puerto Rico

    2

    25.8

    11

    5.5

    8.5

    2.2

    5

    2.5

     

    Tremont Waters (PUR)

    PUR

    Puerto Rico

    4

    24

    22

    5.5

    9.2

    2.2

    10

    2.5

    When it came to helpers, no one had more than Nick Calathes of Greece with his 42 assists and 10.5 assists per game ranked No. 1. Whether it was slick no-look passes or lobs, Calathes set up his teammates with plenty of dimes. Paul Stoll of Mexico wasn't far behind at No. 2 with an average of 10.3 assists per game, making them the only two players to average double-digit dimes, while Luka Doncic of Slovenia was third, Spain's Lorenzo Brown was fourth. Tied for fifth were Jeremiah Hill of Cameroon and Justin Brownlee of the Philippines.

    Leader in steals

    Lionel Kouadio had more steals than any player at the OQTs

    #

    PLAYERS

    Team

    OQT

    GP

    MPG

    STL

    STLPG

    STLP40M

    STL/TO

    STL/PF

    TO

    TOPG

    PF

    1

    Lionel Kouadio

    CIV

    Puerto Rico

    2

    26.6

    8

    4

    6

    8

    2

    1

    0.5

    4

    2

    Bruno Fernando

    ANG

    Spain

    2

    29.8

    5

    2.5

    3.4

    1.2

    0.6

    4

    2

    8

    3

    Christopher Theoret Duarte

    DOM

    Greece

    3

    32.6

    7

    2.3

    2.8

    0.7

    1

    10

    3.3

    7

     

    Jose Alvarado

    PUR

    Puerto Rico

    4

    23.6

    9

    2.3

    3.9

    0.8

    0.9

    12

    3

    10

    4

    Ahmed Metwaly

    EGY

    Greece

    2

    25.5

    4

    2

    3.1

    1

    1.3

    4

    2

    3

     

    Youssef Refaat

    EGY

    Greece

    2

    19.9

    4

    2

    4

    1.3

    2

    3

    1.5

    2

     

    Valdez Edgecombe Jr

    BAH

    Spain

    4

    27.5

    8

    2

    2.9

    0.9

    0.7

    9

    2.3

    11

     

    Mateusz Ponitka

    POL

    Spain

    2

    29.8

    4

    2

    2.7

    2

    0.7

    2

    1

    6

     

    Childe Dundao

    ANG

    Spain

    2

    21.9

    4

    2

    3.7

    1.3

    0.8

    3

    1.5

    5

     

    Marco Spissu

    ITA

    Puerto Rico

    3

    22.4

    6

    2

    3.6

    2

    2

    3

    1

    3

     

    Ali Hasan

    BRN

    Puerto Rico

    2

    13.5

    4

    2

    5.9

    1

    2

    4

    2

    2

    Players with quick hands, strong bodies and sound defensive technique that jump passing lanes and pick the pockets of opponents endear themselves to coaches.

    Meet Côte d'Ivoire's Lionel Kouadio, who had four steals against both Lithuania and Mexico at the OQT in San Juan. No other player at the OQTs had as many steals as the 1.92M shooting guard who is just 22 years old and has a bright future with Les Éléphants. Bruno Fernando did everything well for Angola. He ranked No. 2 with 2.5 steals per game. The Dominican Republic's Chris Duarte, Puerto Rico's Jose "Grand Theft" Alvarado (both 2.3 steals per game) were joint third while several others - Egypt's Ahmed Metwaly and Youssef Refaat, Italy's Marco Spissu, Bahrain's Ali Hasan, Bahamas' Valdez Edgecombe Jr, Poland's Mateusz Ponitka and Angola's Childe Dundao, all averaged 2.0 swipes per content

    Leader in blocked shots

    Bitadze was a wall for Georgia, blocking 6 shots in total

    Rank

    Name

    Team

    OQT

    GP

    MPG

    BLK

    BLKPG

    BLKP40M

    BLK/PF

    PF

    1

    Goga Bitadze

    GEO

    Latvia

    2

    27.9

    6

    3

    4.3

    1

    6

    2

    Anas Mahmoud

    EGY

    Greece

    2

    25.3

    4

    2

    3.2

    4

    1

     

    Bruno Caboclo

    BRA

    Latvia

    4

    29.2

    8

    2

    2.7

    0.7

    12

    4

    Santiago Aldama

    ESP

    Spain

    4

    26.5

    7

    1.8

    2.7

    2.3

    3

    5

    Brice Eyaga Bidias

    CMR

    Latvia

    3

    20.5

    5

    1.7

    3.3

    0.7

    7

    6

    Usman Garuba

    ESP

    Spain

    4

    17

    6

    1.5

    3.5

    0.7

    9

     

    Lionel Kouadio

    CIV

    Puerto Rico

    2

    26.6

    3

    1.5

    2.3

    0.8

    4

     

    Kai Sotto

    PHI

    Latvia

    2

    22.2

    3

    1.5

    2.7

    1

    3

    9

    Karim Rodriguez

    MEX

    Puerto Rico

    3

    27

    4

    1.3

    1.9

    0.6

    7

     

    Joshua Ibarra

    MEX

    Puerto Rico

    3

    28

    4

    1.3

    1.9

    0.7

    6

    Goga Bitadze tried his best to get Georgia beyond the Group Phase, especially on the defensive end where he averaged an OQT-best 3.0 rejections per game. Likewise, Anas Mahmoud finished in second - just as he did at World Cup 2023 - with 2.0 per game. That was tied right up with the TISSOT MVP of OQT Latvia, Brazil's Bruno Caboclo who also led everyone with 8 blocks in total.

    TISSOT MVP of OQT Spain, Santi Aldama, was right behind with 1.8 blocks per game at fourth and Cameroon's Brice Eyaga Bidias rounded out the top five with 1.7 blocks per contest.

    Leader in EFF

    Zubac set an OQT record in EFF

    Rank

    Name

    Team

    OQT

    GP

    MPG

    PPG

    EFF

    EFFPG

    PM

    PMPG

    1

    Ivica Zubac

    CRO

    Greece

    4

    29.8

    22.8

    132

    33

    19

    4.8

    2

    Deandre Ayton

    BAH

    Spain

    4

    35.3

    19.5

    112

    28

    26

    6.5

    3

    Justin Brownlee

    PHI

    Latvia

    3

    38.3

    23

    81

    27

    -1

    -0.3

    4

    Luka Doncic

    SLO

    Greece

    3

    35.5

    27.7

    79

    26.3

    -16

    -5.3

    5

    Shea Ili

    NZL

    Greece

    2

    27

    23

    52

    26

    -10

    -5

    6

    Mikael Jantunen

    FIN

    Spain

    3

    31

    17.7

    72

    24

    -15

    -5

    7

    Giannis Antetokounmpo

    GRE

    Greece

    3

    22.5

    22.7

    69

    23

    51

    17

     

    Santiago Aldama

    ESP

    Spain

    4

    26.5

    17

    92

    23

    46

    11.5

     

    Jeremy Sochan

    POL

    Spain

    2

    29

    18

    46

    23

    -6

    -3

    10

    Bruno Caboclo

    BRA

    Latvia

    4

    29.2

    17.8

    90

    22.5

    47

    11.8

     

    Goga Bitadze

    GEO

    Latvia

    2

    27.9

    14

    45

    22.5

    -12

    -6

    The best players came out to play here in the OQTs, as fans should easily recognize the names that make up the leaders of the competitions in EFF.

    Ivica Zubac set the modern era OQT record for EFF with 43.0 in Croatia's win over New Zealand, recording 29 points and 16 rebounds on 12-15 shooting from the field. It's no surprise that he tops this overall list here.

    The Bahamas' Deandre Ayton, the Philippines' Justin Brownlee, Slovenia's Luka Doncic, and New Zealand's Shea Ili put on a show in their respective venues as well, even if they came short, as the top five in EFF - all averaging over 25.0 per game.

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