CARACAS (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) – Nigerian point guard Tony Skinn had an admission to make Saturday night that didn’t sit well with him.

“I think they wanted it a little more than we did,” he said of his team’s Russian conquerors.

Nigeria and the Dominican Republic looked like shattered teams after their FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Semi-Finals losses, but now is not the time to wallow.

With a solitary place at the Olympics remaining, the teams must slug it out one more time at 19:30 (local time) Sunday to prove themselves worthy of being in the elite group of 12 teams fighting for gold in London.

After defeating Lithuania and Greece in consecutive games this Nigerian team’s credentials look sound, especially after they pushed the all-conquering Russians to the line.

The Dominican Republic stormed into the Semi-Finals with an amazing 58-35 second half against the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD), dominating the airways with 20 offensive rebounds to make up for their 39% shooting.

Against Lithuania, previously one of the weakest rebounding teams in the tournament, the Americans again shot 39% but could manage just 14 offensive rebounds from 43 missed field goals.

The Dominicans now head into the third-placed playoff as significant underdogs, but according to Skinn that isn’t always a bad thing.

“We’ve kind of been the underdogs this whole tournament, people saying you can’t beat these guys or those guys, and we used that as our drive as a unit,” he said.

Dominican Republic coach John Calipari looked a man on a mission as he left the court on Saturday night, and will need to find a more efficient use for star forward Al Horford, who has shot just 9-of-29 in the past two games.

For Nigerian boss Ayo Bakare, the challenge is simply getting his team up to the level they have played at the past three games, but for Skinn that is not a complicated equation.

“It usually comes down to who wants it more. We just need to come out the way we have in all the games and play as a team,” he said.

Do his legs have 40 minutes of intensity left in them after three gruelling games?

“I ain’t got no choice, I’ve got the rest of the summer to rest (if we lose), so tomorrow night is going to be a dog fight.”

FIBA