Luka Dončić, Slovenia to Play Giannis, Greece in 2024 Olympic Qualifying Semifinals
July 4, 2024
Luka Dončić and the Slovenian national men's basketball team will face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Greek national team in the semifinals of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Saturday in Piraeus, Greece.
Dončić led Slovenia to a 104-78 win over New Zealand on Thursday to advance out of group play and confirm his home country's spot in the semifinal round. Greece locked up a semifinal berth with a 93-71 victory over Egypt on Thursday.
Dončić starred in the semifinal with 36 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to lead Slovenia, which needed to win by at least 10 points to advance. Slovenia finished tied in group play at 1-1 with Croatia and New Zealand. Croatia and Slovenia moved onto the semifinals by virtue of the point differential tiebreaker.
Antetokounmpo got the day off against Egypt, but the Greek team still enjoyed a big win to finish 2-0 in group play, shooting 59.7 percent from the field.
Greece and Slovenia will now play on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET. The winner will face off against either Croatia or the Dominican Republic in the qualifying tournament final on Sunday.
And that team will lock in a spot in the Olympics in a group that will include Australia, Canada and the winner of the Spain qualifying tournament (either Finland, Spain, Bahamas or Lebanon).
