By Janina Nuno Rios
(Reuters) – Greece, Spain, Brazil and Puerto Rico have completed the 12-team field in men’s basketball for the Paris Olympics after winning the finals of their respective qualifiers on Sunday.
Following last year’s World Cup, which awarded seven Olympic berths, 24 teams battled it out for the remaining four spots in four tournaments in Greece, Latvia, Spain and Puerto Rico.
The top team in each tournament clinched a ticket to Paris, joining hosts France, the United States, Canada, Australia, South Sudan, Japan, Serbia and Germany.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece made the most of their home advantage to outclass Croatia 80-69 in the final of the Piraeus tournament and returned to the Games after a gap of 16 years.
On top of Antetokounmpo’s 23-point performance, Georgios Papagiannis had 19 points while Nick Calathes chipped in with 11 assists as Greece stepped up a gear after a close first quarter ended 22-22.
Greece will join Group A at the Olympics alongside Australia, Canada and Spain, who secured their seventh consecutive Olympic appearance with an 86-78 win over the Bahamas in the final of the Valencia qualifier.
With the teams tied 17-17 after the first quarter, the hosts then took the lead for good, earning Real Madrid forward Rudy Fernandez the chance to play in a record sixth Games, the most for a male player.
Spain, who have three silver medals and a bronze, will be looking to improve on their sixth-place finish in the Tokyo Games.
Brazil will also return to the Olympics after missing out on Tokyo following a thumping 94-69 victory over hosts Latvia in the final in Riga.
The South Americans will make their 16th appearance at the Summer Games after a dominant performance against Latvia. Bruno Caboclo led the attack with 21 points.
Brazil will kick off their Olympic campaign in Lille against hosts France on July 27. They will also take on Germany and Japan in Group B.
In the last of the qualifiers, Puerto Rico downed Lithuania 79-68 in San Juan to claim the remaining Olympic berth and return to the Games for the first time since 2004.
New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado led Puerto Rico with 23 points, six rebounds and two steals in front of an ecstatic home crowd. Puerto Rico will join reigning champions the United States, Serbia and South Sudan in Group C.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City, editing by Nick Mulvenney and Peter Rutherford)
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