Wins for New Zealand and Russia – FIBA Olympics Qualifiers Roundup 4th July – Part 1
A total of four matches were played on the last day of the preliminary round in the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers for Men. New Zealand defeated Angola after a hard fought battle while Russia stream rolled their way over the Dominican
Republic. In the last two games, Nigeria edged out Lithuania while Greece managed their way to a win over Puerto Rico.
1. New Zealand versus Angola
Despite New Zealand`s best efforts to come away with an 68-64 victory over Angola, they weren’t able to qualify for the Olympics and got eliminated on point differentials.
Tai Webster led the scoring for his team with 21 points on a 7 of 12 shooting performance during which he was able to make 5 out of 6 attempts from three point land. Leon Henry provided equal support by chipping in 15 points by
shooting the ball 50% from the field while Rob Loe managed to score 13 points.
On the other hand, Eduardo Mingas shot the ball 6 of 15 from the field for 17 points and was also able to notch up a double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds. Only one other player was able to cross the double digit mark for the African
nation - Olimpio Capriano with 11 points.
2. Russia versus Dominican Republic
In the second matchup of the day, Russia managed to dominate their way to an 84-69 victory over Dominican Republic.
Four players made sizable contributions by chipping in with double digit points to turn the contest into a lopsided affair and help Russia qualify for the Olympics on top of group C.
Andrei Kirilenko managed to muster up a double-double performance in the game with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Vitaliy Fridzon also chipped in with 16 points in the contest.
Viktor Khryapa was another Russian player who had a good game with 14 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds and Alexander Kaun recorded 10 points.
For the Dominican Republic, the best effort came from Al Horford an NBA All-Star who tried his best to keep his team in the game with 22 points and 9 rebounds while Jack Martinez managed to get 13 points.
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