Americas National Federations thriving in FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments

MIAMI (USA) - With only the top team securing a spot in each of the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, teams from the Americas regions have been off to a hot start and are on the path to potentially joining Argentina and USA to represent the Americas in Tokyo.

In Victoria, Canada has gotten off to a 2-0 start in Group A with wins over Greece and China and secured a spot in the Semi-Finals of the qualifiers. Andrew Wiggins and RJ Barrett lead the team in scoring, averaging 21.5 points and 19 points per game respectively, while Dwight Powell has made one of the biggest two-way impacts in the game averaging 8 rebounds per game on top of being one of the tournament’s top scorers with an average of 12 points per game.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, one of the team’s best playmakers, also is in the top three players for team Canada in points, rebounds and assists with an average of 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

Split, Croatia’s first two teams to qualify for Semi-Final spots were both teams from the Americas, Mexico and Brazil. Mexico finished Group A play with a 1-1 record, with a win over Russia and performances from Francisco Cruz, who is averaging a monster 25.5 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists a game, as well as from Gustavo Ayon leading the charge on defense, with his double-double average of 14 points and 11 rebounds helping Mexico move on to the next stage of the tournament.

Brazil cruised to a 2-0 record in Group B, beating out both Tunisia and Croatia by a margin of over 25 points. Rafael Hettsheimeir, proven as one of the best players in the Americas after he was named MVP for his club Flamengo after winning the Basketball Champions League Americas title with them, proved once again his impact on any roster and is leading Brazil with an average of 20 points per game. Leonardo Meindl, Vitor Benite and Bruno Cabclo also are all consistent double-digit scorers for Brazil, and will be crucial in the next round to give Brazil the best chance to secure a spot in Tokyo.

The only team representing the Americas in Kaunas, Lithuania is Venezuela, but they have held their own against tough competition in Group A and have managed to also snag a Semi-Final qualifying spot. In a close loss to host nation Lithuania, where 10 different Venezuelan players contributed five or more points, the team came back with a huge win over Korea to swing their momentum heading into the Semi-Finals.

A double-double performance from Michael Carrera, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Garly Sojo narrowly missing the same mark with 13 points and 9 rebounds, the Venezuelan team showed off their well-rounded capabilities in the 94-80 win that will see them face Solvenia in the next round.

Belgrade, Serbia has a more unique situation in their Group B, as Puerto Rico qualified for the Semi-Finals after playing only one game but will play top team Serbia as they finished second after a narrow seven-point loss to Italy.

FIBA