There are still five slots to be filled in the Olympic slate of competitors this summer in London. To see who will be earning their way to play for their country in the Olympics, a FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament is taking place in Ankara, Turkey as we speak.
The tournament, which runs through July 1, consists of 12 teams separated into four groups. The top eight teams (i.e. the top two in each group) will qualify for the knockout round, also known as the quarterfinals. These quarterfinalists will get four of the five available berths to the Olympics. The losers in the knockout round will play a two-game mini-tournament amongst themselves to determine who gets to pack for London.
Day 1 Results:
Group A - Turkey 65, Puerto Rico 53
Group B - Czech Republic 70, New Zealand 51
Group C - Croatia 84, Mozambique 62
Group D - Canada 89, Mali 23
Names of Note:
Quanitra Hollingsworth is playing for Turkey and contributed 13 points in the win over Puerto Rico. Jazmine Sepulveda, who played her college ball at South Florida, was Puerto Rico's top scorer in the game with 20 points. Jillian Harmon, who played collegiately at Stanford, scored nine points in New Zealand's losing effort. Clarisse Machanguana provided over a third of Mozambique's offense in their loss to Croatia. Former Old Dominion player, Machanguana had 23 points and 13 rebounds in the loss. Courtnay Pilypaitis, formerly at Vermont, efforted the Canadians over Mali with 15 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Former Monarch Kimberley Smith had 11 points in the victory and Miranda Ayim, who spent time with the Tulsa Shock after playing at Pepperdine, added 10 points.
Upcoming Games:
Group A - Turkey vs. Japan (6/26); Japan vs. Puerto Rico (6/27)
Group B - New Zealand vs. Argentina (6/26); Argentina vs. Czech Republic (6/27)
Group C - Mozambique vs. Korea (6/26); Korea vs. Croatia (6/27)
Group D - Canada vs. France (6/26); France vs. Mali (6/27)
Thanks to the time change between the U.S. and Turkey, Day 2 has already started and the first elimination has taken place. Mozambique fell to Korea 71-65 and they are now eliminated from Olympic consideration. Group C's Korea and Croatia will play the top two teams in Group D in the knockout round.