FIBA 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Day 3: July 16, 2008
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The quarterfinal matchups at the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men are set after four more eventful games on Wednesday. Canada secured the last remaining quarterfinal berth, while Greece, Germany and Croatia won their respective groups. The quarterfinals on Friday will feature Group A winner Greece against New Zealand, Group B winner Germany against Brazil, Group C winner Slovenia against Puerto Rico and Group D winner Croatia against Canada. Only three of the remaining eight teams will continue on to the Olympic Summer Games in Beijing, China. In Wednesday's first game, Canada rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final three minutes to edge Korea 79-77. Rowan Barrett paced Team Canada with 22 points. Croatia wrapped up Group D by dusting off Puerto Rico 81-95 as Davor Kus and Marko Tomas led six scorers in double figures. Later Germany trounced New Zealand 89-71 behind a combined 55 points from Drik Nowitzki and Chris Kaman. And then in Group A, the hosts, Greece, eased past Brazil 69-89 as Antonis Fotsis shined with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
 Canada rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final three minutes to reach the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament quarterfinals by edging Korea 79-77 in Group C on Wednesday. Canada finished second in Group C at 1-1 and advanced to the next round, while Korea finished at 0-2 and will not be at the Beijing 2008 Olympic games. Rowan Barrett paced the winners with 22 points. Jermaine Anderson added 17, including the go-ahead triple in the final minute. Carl English scored 12 and Levon Kendall pulled down 14 boards for Canada. Jung-gyu Jeon led Korea with 19 points. The teams were tied at 20-20 after a tight opening period. Sekeun Oh and Min-soo Kim fueled a 2-12 run that gave Korea a double-digit lead, 22-32. Barrett sank consecutive triples to give Canada some hope, 33-39, but Jeong had 8 points in a 0-10 run that made it 33-49 at halftime. Barrett and Kendall fueled a 9-0 run to bring their team back to life at 42-51. Thomas and English brought Canada even closer, 59-64, at the end of the third quarter. Three-pointers by Kim, Hee-Jung Joo and Ho-young Yoo gave Korea a 65-77 edge with three minutes to go. Canada was not done, however, as Kendall, English and Barrett brought their team within 75-77 with a minute remaining. Anderson buried the go-ahead triple and soon added a free throws for a 79-77 Canadian lead with 11 seconds to go, capping a 14-0 run. Oh missed near the basket at the buzzer.
 Croatia won Group D by topping Puerto Rico 81-95. Davor Kus of Unicaja and Marko Tomas of Real Madrid scored 15 points apiece to lead a well-balanced Croatian attack that featured six scorers in double figures. Lary Ayuso paced Puerto Rico with 22 points. The two teams entered the game with 1-0 records knowing that they had secured a spot in the quarterfinals and were now playing for first place. It was Puerto Rico that came out stronger as Peter John Ramos scored the game’s first two baskets helping his team to an 8-0 start. Back-to-back Carlos Arroyo three-pointers made it 14-2 just three-and-a-half minutes into the contest. The lead would peak at 26-9 after an Ayuso triple late in the period before Tomas and Marin Rozic brought Croatia within 12 after 10 minutes. Tomas and Rozic hit threes to ignite Croatia as it stormed back with a 3-16 second-period charge. Head coach Jasmin Repesa’s side scored the last 8 points of the half to take their first lead – 40-43 at the break. Niksa Prkacin scored 5 points in a row to give Croatia a 49-59 lead midway through the third as Croatia started to dominate. An Ayuso three made it 63-70 early in the fourth, but Croatia scored on its next four possessions to take a 15-point lead that allowed it to coast to victory. Prkacin, Roko-Leni Ukic and Tomas added 12 points apiece and Marko Popovic scored 10 for Croatia. Ukic also dished 5 assists.
 Germany recorded an impressive win over New Zealand to win Group B. Dirk Nowitzki scored 35 points and Chris Kaman added 20 to lead Germany to an 89-71 win. The two also combined for 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. The Kiwis stayed close throughout the first period-and-a-half, leading by as many as 5, but Germany turned things around closed out the first half on a 17-3 tear to take a 47-33 halftime lead. A Craig Bradshaw triple helped New Zealand get within 9 midway through the third quarter and the two teams then traded baskets for the rest of the period. However all New Zealand hopes for first place came to a crashing halt as Germany – led by Nowitzki – scored 15 unanswered points to open the fourth period. That run saw head coach Dirk Bauermann's charges go ahead 83-57, effectively ending the contest. Pascal Roller added 10 points and Konrad Wysocki grabbed 8 rebounds for Germany. Kirk Penney poured in 29 points and Pero Cameron added 14 for New Zealand in defeat.
 A determined Greece was too much even for an outstanding Tiago Splitter as the world championship runner-up overcame Brazil 69-89 to win Group A. Antonis Fotsis recorded a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds and his Panathinaikos teammate Vassilis Spanoulis added 14 points and 4 assists to lead Greece to the big win. Splitter of Tau Ceramica posted 20 points and 7 rebounds and Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Alex Garcia added 15 for Brazil. The keys to the game for the hosts were their aggressive defense, which committed 32 fouls, and a passing game that recorded 18 assists to Brazil’s 3. The game was a close affair throughout the first period, which ended 17-18. Spanoulis sparked a 1-9 second-period charge as Greece took a double-digit lead that stood at 30-40 by halftime. Brazil was unable to mount a serious charge at any point in the second half as Greece slowly but surely extended its advantage en route to a 20-point victory. Ioannis Bouroussis of Olympiacos and Nikos Zisis of CSKA Moscow each added 10 points for Greece. Marcelinho Machado and Marcelo Huertas scored 14 apiece for Brazil.
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