The final day of action in the 2016 Rio Olympics Men’s Basketball tournament elimination round was full of drama as Brazil beat Nigeria, Spain outplayed Argentina, and Croatia prevailed over Lithuania.
*The following also appears on FIBA.com.
BRA over NGR, 86-69
Brazil beat Nigeria, 86-69, in their last Group B game on Monday to give themselves a chance of advancing to the Quarter-Finals.
Having improved to 2-3, the hosts now need for Argentina to beat Spain this evening to advance to the Last Eight. Meanwhile, Nigeria, after dropping to 1-4 with the loss, will take no further part in the competition.
Brazil used a 27-15 second quarter to take control of the game and whenever Nigeria got within striking distance over the course of the second half, Nene Hilario stepped up to make big plays to keep them at bay.
Rafael Hettsheimer, Raulzinho Neto and Vitor Benite provided a huge lift off the bench in the first half. Hettsheimer was doing damage from beyond the arc, while Neto capped off a 7-0 run for a 38-28 lead and Benite hit a high-arching floater in the dying seconds of the second quarter for a 42-31 advantage at the break.
Nene finished with a game-high 19 points to go with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a block. He even got a very friendly roll on a three-point attempt for his first make of the tournament. Hettsheimer and Benite each had 10 points in the first half.
ESP over ARG, 92-73
Spain beat Argentina, 92-73, on Monday evening to seal their place in the Quarter-Finals of the Olympic Basketball Tournament, at the expense of hosts Brazil.
With the win, Spain are assured of finishing second in Group B and will take on bitter rivals France in the Quarter-Finals. The result also means that Argentina, Croatia, Lithuania and Spain are guaranteed to be the four teams from Group B advancing to the Last Eight, with Brazil joining Nigeria as the two teams being eliminated.
The game between Lithuania and Croatia will determine which of those two teams will win Group B and also whether Argentina finish third or fourth. If Lithuania come out on top, they will win the group, with Spain, Argentina and Croatia finishing second, third and fourth respectively. If Croatia prevail, they will top the group, followed by Spain, Lithuania and Argentina.
The game was decided early on as, after Argentina scored the first eight points of the game, Spain then went on a 22-3 run and never looked back.
Fernandez had his best offensive performance of the tournament, finishing with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.
CRO over LTU, 90-81
Croatia overcame an early 10-point deficit to get by Lithuania, 90-81, in the last game of the Group Phase to win Group B and set up a Quarter-Final against Serbia.
As a consequence of the defeat, Lithuania finished third in the group and will take on Australia in the Last Eight. Argentina, who earlier in the day lost to Spain, ended up in fourth place and will face the USA when the Final Phase gets underway on Wednesday. The Spaniards found out after their win that they would face France in the knockout round.
Croatia and Lithuania went back and fourth in the early stages of the contest, before the Baltic side scored 11 unanswered points for a 21-11 lead late in the first quarter.
The Croats turned the game in their favour by going on the offensive - quite literally - as they outscored the Lithuanians 34-20 in the second period for a 47-41 halftime lead and 28-14 in the third for a commanding 75-55 advantage.
Lithuania used a 24-10 run in the final period to get within 85-79 on Mantas Kalnietis' dunk with 43 seconds left to play but Croatia held on for the win.
Krunoslav Simon made timely three-pointers in the final quarter on his way to finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Dario Saric and Bojan Bogdanovic secured the win with the final points after Kalnietis' dunk.
All images are from FIBA.
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