They see Tokyo from Belgrade
BELGRADE (Serbia) - Six teams from four different continents were supposed to fight for one Olympic trip in Belgrade's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Unfortunately, Senegal will not participate after the team had four recent positive COVID-19 cases. Regardless of that, national teams of the Philippines, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Italy, and the host's Serbia will, without any dilemma, give us a good basketball, a great fight, and hopefully a lot of excitement in the famous Aleksandar Nikolic Hall.
GROUP A
Serbia
FIBA rank: 5
Previous appearance at the Olympics: Rio 2016 - silver medal
Last game: Win over Mexico (81-77)
What a player says: Nikola KALINIC
"It's a little bit strange situation with the bubble. But, we know why we are here - we want to give our best, we want to go to Tokyo. That is our goal and chance to play for our country. We have twelve guys who are ready to do that.
"Yeah, we had some problems with injuries, but it is a good group of players, a good group of people. We have all the support from the coaches. We are confident. It will be fun, there are many good teams and players, and some teams are playing some different leagues that we don't know so well.
I think it's going to be a clash of styles. But if we are present our 'A' game, we are the best team in the tournament, and we must prove that."
Dominican Republic
FIBA rank: 19
Previous appearance at the Olympics: none
Last game: Defeated by Lithuania (95-68)
What a player says: Sadiel ROJAS
"This is a tournament where we have pretty big ambitions. We will try and give our best to go to the Olympics. That's something our country has never done in basketball, and we see this as a great opportunity.
"It will be a tough competition. Serbia, Italy, and others are very good teams, but it's still a 5-on-5 game on the court, and if we play hard as we know, we can surprise teams. We are here basically to make upsets and fight for that Olympics spot."
Philippines
FIBA rank: 31
Previous appearance at the Olympics: Munich 1972 - 13th place
Last game: Draw with China (79-79)
What a player says: Kai SOTTO
"I expect this will be a tough challenge for us. We are going to face some very experienced and sized teams. On the other hand, we are a very young squad. Maybe the advantage we have is that we are hungry. We all know how important is basketball to the people in our country, and we want to make them happy and proud."
GROUP B
Puerto Rico
FIBA rank: 18
Previous appearance at the Olympics: Athens 2004 - 6th place
Last game: Defeated by Croatia (72-66)
What a player says: Jorge Bryan DIAZ
"We have high expectations from this tournament. We have a young group and hungry group of players, and we are ready to fight. But, for me, Belgrade is a familiar place. I've been here five years ago and would like to repeat that result and play against Serbia in the finals again. And I hope we can find a way to win and go to Tokyo."
Italy
FIBA rank: 10
Previous appearance at the Olympics: Athens 2004 - silver medal
Last game: Defeated by Germany (91-79)
What a player says: Nicolo MELLI
"We have to focus on game by game and approach every game as 'do or die'. Of course, it's not an easy tournament. We are in Serbia, and the main team is Serbia, for sure. But, on the other hand, we have our chances, and we will play our best. We plan to play with a lot of energy and surprise many people."
