Antetokounmpo, Greece strong in the first game; Doncic and Slovenia still have a chance to qualify for the Olympics

Giannis Antetokounmpo looked like a player intent on leading Greece to their first Olympic berth since 2008.

Antetokounmpo had 32 points in 19 minutes, making 11 of 11 shots from the field, as Greece won 109-82 over the Dominican Republic on Wednesday in the Group B Olympic qualifying tournament in Piraeus, Greece.

Thomas Walkup added 17 points for Greece, who lead by 27 and can advance to the semi-finals with a win over Egypt on Thursday.

“Giannis loves being here. He loves representing his country,” said Greek coach Vassilis Spanoulis. “He is very humble. He’s part of the team. For a star, you don’t find it easy. …He’s about to win.

The tournament in Greece is one of four that began on Tuesday to determine the final four places in the field for the Paris Olympics. Other tournaments are underway in Latvia, Puerto Rico and Spain.

Group play at all four venues continues through Thursday, with semi-final games on Saturday and title games on Sunday.

Participating in the Olympics is one of the few things Antetokounmpo has yet to achieve in his career.

On Wednesday, he didn’t seem at all bothered by the strain in his left calf that made him stay out the Milwaukee Bucks playoffs in April. He got to the rim at will, was 9 of 13 from the free throw line and knocked down his only 3-point attempt.

Croatia advanced in its attempt to win one of the last Olympic places, but not with the momentum it expected.

New Zealand beat Croatia 90-86 in Group A in Piraeus. Corey Webster had 21 points and Shea Ili added 18, including a go-ahead layup in the final minute to help New Zealand’s comeback.

“I think it was a brave win for our team,” said New Zealand captain Reuben Te Rangi.

Ivica Zubac had 29 points and 16 rebounds, Dario Saric added 19 points and eight rebounds and Mario Hezonja had 16 points for Croatia, who managed to secure a place in the semifinals with a difference of four points. The loss, however, kept NBA star Luka Doncic and Slovenia in contention.

Slovenia can exit Group A and reach the semi-finals if they beat New Zealand by 21 points in the teams’ meeting on Thursday. Otherwise, New Zealand will advance.

Croatia won their opener 108-92 over Slovenia on Tuesday.

“It was a difficult situation to play after a thrilling win over Slovenia,” Saric said of Wednesday’s defeat. “We were hoping to be on par and push the game in our direction. But today that wasn’t the case.”

In Riga, Latvia, Montenegro survived a slow start to keep its semi-final hopes alive with a 70-66 victory over Cameroon.

Marko Simonovic had 18 points, six rebounds and was 9 of 9 from the free throw line, leading five Montenegro players in double figures. Nikola Vucevic finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Cameroon needs to beat Brazil when the teams meet on Thursday to advance to the semi-finals outside Group B. Otherwise, the second place would go to Montenegro.

Cameroon led 32-29 at halftime. But Montenegro opened the third quarter with a 15-2 run to take a 44-34 lead and never trailed again. Montenegro made 7 of 9 free throws in the final period and 20 of 24 in the game.

Fabien Quentin Philibert Ateba and Jordan Bayehe scored 14 points each to lead Cameroon.

Valdez Edgecombe Jr. scored 21 points, Deandre Ayton added 18 points and nine rebounds, and the Bahamas advanced to the knockout stage with a victory over Poland in Valencia, Spain.

The Bahamas led by 19 points in the fourth quarter, making 13 3-pointers and assisting on 24 of their 31 field goals in the game. Buddy Hield finished with 17 points and 10 assists to help his team finish 2-0 in Group B.

Poland and Finland play Thursday to decide who will join the Bahamas in the group in the semifinals.

Justin Brownlee had 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to help the Philippines fend off a late onslaught and beat Latvia 89-80 in Group A of the Latvian tournament.

Kai Sotto had 18 points and eight rebounds.

Latvia trailed by 26 points and reduced what was a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to 10 with 1:21 remaining. But the Philippines calmed down and managed to finish it off.

Rodions Kurucs led Latvia with 18 points.

The Philippines are in command to win their group and advance to the knockout stages when they face Georgia on Thursday. Latvia beat Georgia 83-55 on Tuesday.

Santiago Aldama scored 24 points and Spain beat Angola 89-81 to win Group A and advance to the semifinals of the Spanish League tournament.

Willy Hernangomez added 22 points and 10 rebounds. The winner of Lebanon and Angola on Thursday will join Spain in the qualifiers.

Spain had a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and Angola never got closer than six the rest of the way.

Jilson Bango led Angola with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Domantas Sabonis scored 22 points to help Lithuania beat Ivory Coast 97-93 and advance to the knockout stages of the San Juan tournament in Puerto Rico.

Marius Grigonis added 18 points and Lukas Lekavicius finished with 13, including 3 with less than a minute left to put his team ahead for good. Sabonis also grabbed nine rebounds to help Lithuania finish 2-0 in Group A.

Deon Thompson scored 18 points to lead Ivory Coast, who need to beat Mexico on Thursday to secure a place in the semi-finals.

Ivory Coast took a 72-65 lead into fourth place.

Lithuania twice came within a point before Lekavicius floated in for a 92-90 lead. Côte d’Ivoire took the lead again with a minute left, thanks to a 3 from Jean Philippe Dally.

Lekavicius responded with a 3 to make it 95-93 with 41 seconds left.

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