Sublime Serbia triumph in Belgrade OQT Final to qualify for Olympics

BELGRADE (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) – Hosts Serbia put in an outlandish opening-quarter display in Saturday's Final of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Belgrade and cruised to an 108-77 victory over Puerto Rico to punch their ticket to Rio 2016.

Turning Point: Puerto Rico scored the first basket of the game but their lead lasted only 33 seconds as Serbia replied swiftly with a 9-0 run. The Caribbean side called a time-out to stop the rot but when play resumed Serbia picked up where they left off and went on a blistering 15-0 run to stretch the gap to 24-3 with 4:11 remaining in the first quarter. Serbia's lead stretched to 37-7 shortly before the first buzzer.

Stats Don't Lie: Serbia's supersonic offence stole the limelight from the start as the hosts knocked down 13 of their first 16 attempts from the floor, including 6-of-8 from three-point range. The Serbians dished out a collective 37 assists.

Game Hero: Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nikola Jokic sparked Serbia's explosive start as they combined for 15 points and seven assists in just seven minutes of play.

The Bottom Line: Serbia will take part in the Olympic Games basketball tournament as an independent country for the first time, following their break-up from Montenegro in 2006. Puerto Rico's Olympic dream has been postponed for at least another four years.

FIBA