The Greeks are out, Bo McCalebb is out, J.J. Barea and Carlos Arroyo are out, and there won’t be any Angolans to elbow around at the 2012 Olympic men’s basketball tournament.
On a day of wild swings and finishes at the quarterfinals of the Olympic qualifying tournament in Caracas, Venezuela, the field of Olympic contenders was reduced to four — Russia, the Dominican Republic, Nigeria and Lithuania.
Two spots will be determined in today’s semifinals, with both of those teams going into Team USA’s group. The losers will play Sunday for the final berth.
The upset of the day belonged to Nigeria, which defeated Greece 80-79.
From FIBA.com: “An unlikely cameo from Ade Dagunduro has delivered Nigeria one of the most memorable victories in international basketball history and put one Nigerian foot into the London Olympics. After scoring just 19 points in the tournament to that point, the 1.95m guard nailed his country’s last seven points to secure a thrilling 80-79 Quarter-Final win over Greece. First Dagunduro hit a mid-range jumper with 70 seconds remaining from an Ike Diogu offensive rebound, and then a pull-up three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to reclaim a two-point lead with 30 seconds to play. After Kostas Papanikolaou nailed a triple of his own with 14 seconds left, Dagunduro then drove to the basket and drew a foul on Nikolas Zisis. To the delight of the deafening Nigerian fans, he slotted both free throws and then blocked Vassilis Spanoulis’ game-winning three-point attempt to spark wild mid-court celebrations. While Dagunduro’s 14 points were the icing on the cake, Ike Diogu (17 points, 12 rebounds) was the rock of Gibraltar. Al-Farouq Aminu (13 points, 5 rebounds) was also important, making repeated big plays throughout the game. For Greece, Spanoulis (25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) was the star but only Ioannis Bourousis (18 points, 5 rebounds) and Georgios Printezis (10 points) made it to double figures in support. Video highlights:
The comeback of the quarterfinals belonged to the Dominicans, who erased a 20-point second-quarter deficit to defeat Macedonia 86-76 despite 35 points from former University of New Orleans guard Bo McCalebb.
From FIBA.com: “The game appeared out of reach when the trailed by 20 points with four minutes to play in the second quarter, but a crucial 11-4 run to end the half opened the door for a revival. The hot shooting of Francisco Garcia then made the second half one to remember for their large band of travelling fans. Garcia finished with 28 points, 21 coming after halftime. Al Horford (14 points, 15 rebounds) overcame a horror first half through his hustle on the boards, while Jack-Michael Martinez (14 points, 13 rebounds), Ronald Ramon (13 points) and Elpidio Fortuna (9 points, 7 rebounds) all made valuable contributions at both ends. … The Dominican Republic opened the second half with a 12-2 run that brought the score to 43-40 and crowd to fever pitch, only to watch MKD extend the margin back to nine points. A Ramon three-pointer closed the gap to three but McCalebb immediately answered in kind. It wasn’t until Horford – who was 1-of-10 at three-quarter time – finally connected on a jump shot with 8:46 left in the fourth term that his team claimed the lead. From there Garcia made the game his own, scoring 10 points for the quarter as the Dominicans showed great poise.
After spraining his ankle in the previous game, Timofey Mozgov was sidelined for Russia. But David Blatt’s team held Angola to five second-quarter points to move on with an 80-65 victory over Angola.
From FIBA.com: “Perennial go-to man Andrei Kirilenko (14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) was once again irresistible, pouring in nine first quarter points to help build a lead from which the Angolans never looked likely to come back.
With Kirilenko involved in almost every play, Vitaliy Fridzon (18 points) and Alexander Kaun (17) provided much of what remained of the scoring with Mozgov absence barely noticeable. In spite of a powerful showing by Eduardo Mingas (20) and solid displays by guards Armando Costa (10) and Carlos Morais (14) the Angolans struggled to cope with the strong Russian low post play. In game that will be remembered for some great inside play and some very mediocre three point shooting, the Russians once again lived up to their reputation of one of the best defensive units and most tactically solid teams in international basketball.”
Finally, the perennial European powerhouse from Lithuania got a crucial play from veteran Sarunas Jasikevicius in the final minute to defeat Puerto Rico 76-72.
From FIBA.com: “Puerto Rico had several opportunities to draw clear in the first half, leading by eight and six in the first and second quarters respectively thanks to the inside-out combination of JJ Barea and Peter John Ramos. But they could not string together baskets at the crucial time, whereas Martynas Pocius and Maciulis hit important buckets to keep Lithuania close. With the Europeans being awarded 15 free three throws in the final 6:11 of the second quarter they took a 40-38 halftime lead. In contrast, it was Lithuania who couldn’t break away in the third quarter despite controlling play. A spectacular Arroyo fade-away and a Galindo triple allowed Puerto Rico to reduce a seven-point deficit to just two at the final break. The story was the same in the final term, Lithuania out by seven before Arroyo and Galindo struck again to reduce the gap to one with 4:50 to play. When Arroyo hit his second triple the crowd erupted and the Americans (sic) had their first lead since the second quarter. In a gripping finale, Jasikevicius made his strong move to put his team up by one before a wild pass from Barea (5/15 field goals, 3 turnovers) robbed his team of a potentially game-winning shot.
Greece – The Greeks have long been known as a tough challenger in international competitions, especially after their smackdown of Team USA in the 2006 World Championships. The Greek team doesn’t feature any current NBA players, but has several players who have been NBA draft picks and several of the best players Europe has to offer. Led by All-Euroleague first teamer, Vassilis Spanoulis, Greece has a very balanced attack behind European vets Ioannis Bourousis, Nikolas Zisis, Antonis Fotsis and Kostas Kaimakoglou, as well as three NBA rights owned players, Nick Calathes (Florida/Dallas Mavericks) and the Knicks’ pair, Kostas Papanikolaou and Georgis Printezis.
Puerto Rico – Puerto Rico has been a staple in the World Championships and beat the United States by 19 in the first game of the 2004 Athens Olympics. Led by Carlos Arroyo, who just led Besiktas (Deron Williams’ old team) to a championship in the Turkish League and the Euro Challenge, and 2011 NBA Champion, J.J. Barea, the Puerto Rican team will need another guy to step up big for them if they are to have a chance to qualify. While Renaldo Balkman may provide some defense, look for D-League rookie of the year, Edwin Ubiles, to have an outstanding tournament if Puerto Rico is to be in the mix to advance.
Jordan – Featuring no players with any experience in any major leagues in America, Europe or Asia, Jordan will have a tough time competing with two experienced teams. Don’t expect them to come within 30 in the two games they will play.
Lithuania – Despite finishing fifth on their home soil last summer’s Eurobasket, Lithuania has typically been a very strong international team, winning a bronze medal at the last World Championship, and coming in fourth place in the last Olympic tournament. Linas Kleiza appears set to become a leader on this squad, with his athleticism and energy level very difficult to match in this tournament. He is more of a role player and energy guy in the NBA, but on the national team, he will be expected to be one of the pieces that makes Lithuania go.
Nigeria – While Nigeria is by no means a favorite to make it out of this tournament, they will surprise some people over the next few days. Aside from former lottery picks Al-Farouq Aminu and Ike Diogu, Nigeria has several players who are strong contributors in Europe.
Venezuela – Coached by Eric Musselman, Venezuela has a chance to compete with Nigeria for the quarterfinal slot, and they will be relying heavily on New Orleans Hornets guard Greivis Vasquez. Vasquez can lead a team, as he showed last summer and during his time at the University of Maryland, but to get this team an Olympic berth, Vasquez may need to average a triple-double for the tournament.
Russia – Led by Andrei Kirilenko, this team should have little trouble making it back to the Olympics, where they won the bronze medal in 2008.
Rounding out coach David Blatt’s roster will be former NBA first-round picks, Victor Khryapa and Sergey Monya, as well as big men Timofey Mozgov (Nuggets) and former Kansas Jayhawk, Sasha Kaun.
Dominican Republic – Coach Calipari may be able to recruit the best talent to bring championships in college, but it appears he will not have such luck with the Dominican Republic national team. While they will be led by NBA All-Star Al Horford, he is coming off an injury and may not be his dominant self.
South Korea – Korea is in a little bit over its head in this tournament, but this experience will be very important for this emerging basketball market. Former Cal big man Rod Benson spent last season playing (more like dominating) in Korea, and spoke very highly about the competition level and the up-and-coming play of the domestic players. They will probably get whacked in both of their games, but this experience could be a stepping stone for the future for this squad.
FYR Macedonia – The big surprise in last summer’s Eurobasket, Macedonia will need a miracle run from Bo McCalebb to have the slightest chance to play in London. McCalebb is an unbelievable scorer who seems content passing up a chance to be a strong third guard in the NBA in favor of being arguably Europe’s best scorer.
Angola – They won’t wow you with any recognizable names, but they are a squad that plays with energy and effort. No matter who their opponent is, they play hard on both ends for 40 minutes, and their combination of effort and athleticism should be too much for New Zealand to overcome in the group stage.
New Zealand – New Zealand is only here because FIBA lets in the second-place finisher from the weak Oceania region. They have had their moments in international competitions, and were the toast of the town in Indianapolis at the 2002 World Championship, regularly quenching their thirsts at one of America’s great music bars, 
