TURIN (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - Here are the Semi-Finals to look forward to on Friday at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Turin, Italy (click here to watch the games).

Greece v Croatia

 
A pair of countries that claimed berths for the Beijing Games at the OQT in Athens eight years ago will this time meet with only one team staying alive in the hunt for Rio. Both national teams missed out on the London Olympics so that adds to the sense of urgency to return to the spectacle that will be staged next month in Brazil. Greece had their struggles against both Iran and Mexico but also dominated for much of those contests en route to comprehensive victories that gave it first place in Group A. Giannis Antetokounmpo and his older brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, have been sensational and Nick Calathes, Giannis Bourousis and Kostas Koufos have been terrific, too. Croatia looked like a team that might spoil the party in their opening game against Italy but lost, despite a 26-point effort from Bojan Bogdanovic and a gritty effort from Dario Saric. All bets are off in this one.

Italy v Mexico

 
OQT hosts Italy will go up against Mexico for the first time in a very long time on Friday when the teams play in the second Semi-Final in Turin. The last time the teams met in a big tournament was 1967 at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Mexico won against Italy twice. The Italians, who finished first in Group B this week after grinding out a tough victory against Croatia, have been led by Marco Belinelli and Daniel Hackett, will be looking to keep playing good defense and hope that vetearns Gigi Datome and Danilo Gallinari get on track. They will not be taking a Mexican team that led Greece at half-time lightly. If Pako Cruz continues to providing scoring and Mexico can have some success inside, this contest will be very interesting.

FIBA