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FIBA 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, final: July 20, 2008
Germany is headed to the Olympics (Photo: FIBA)Germany secured the last remaining berth to the 2008 Beijing Olympics by beating Puerto Rico in the third-place game at the 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men in Athens on Sunday. Germany joins another pair of European teams, Croatia and Greece, as the three teams to advance from Athens. Croatia defeated Germany in Saturday's semifinals, while Greece bested Puerto Rico. Their success means that half of the 12 men's basketball teams competing in Beijing will be from Europe. Germany qualified for its first men's Olympic basketball event since 1992, when it finished seventh in Barcelona. Since then Germany has been quite a success, first winning the 1993 European champonships and more recently the bronze medal at the 2002 world championships and silver at the 2005 European championships.



Final                                Germany 96-82 Puerto Rico
Steffen Hamann - Germany (Photo: FIBA)Germany is headed to the 2008 Summer Olympics after beating Puerto Rico 96-82 in the deciding game on Sunday. It was another big game from star forward Dirk Nowitzki, while Alba Berlin point guard Steffen Hamann rose to the occasion with his best game of the tournament. Nowitzki recorded 32 points and 9 rebounds, raising his scoring average to 26.7 points per game – best in the competition. Hamann finished with 19 points and 4 assists, while Demond Greene of Brose Baskets added 15 points and Chris Kaman posted 10 points and 12 rebounds. Puerto Rico, which was without star guard Carlos Arroyo after he tore a leg muscle in Saturday's semifinal defeat, got 18 points from Juan Jose Barea. The game was close in the early going, with Barea and Larry Ayuso pushing Puerto Rico to a 9-14 led. Nowitzki and Kaman quickly brought Germany back and the score settled at 22-23 after 10 minutes. A Filiberto Rivera triple midway through the second period put Puerto Rico up 31-33, but that would prove to be its last lead as Germany used a pair of 7-0 spurts to take a 48-39 halftime lead. A Greene triple a few minutes into the third quarter made it 55-45. Ricky Sanchez carried Puerto Rico back within 4, however triples from Hamann, Robert Garrett and Greene keyed a 12-0 charge that helped Germany take a 16-point lead into the last period, which would prove to be more than enough. The German lead peaked at 21 on a Patrick Femerling basket early in the fourth period and even though Puerto Rico managed to cut the lead to 9 with 2:15 remaining, it would prove to be too little, too late as Germany coasted to victory. Peter John Ramoas recorded 16 points and 9 rebounds, Ayuso scored 15 and Sanchez and Rivera added 12 apiece for Puerto Rico in defeat.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
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