The Dominican Republic men’s basketball team defeated the Philippines in an exciting game during the Tokyo Olympics qualifier in Belgrade, Serbia. The second quarter of the game ended 41-39 in favor of Philippines, but the DR remounted to win the game 94-67. The other teams are Italy and Puerto Rico. The winner gets the slot to participate in the Tokyo Olympics.
The DR had lost its first game 94-76 in a worthy battle against Serbia, ranked 5th by the Federation of International Basketball (FIBA). Team Dominican Repubic will now play Italy on Saturday 1pm (Italian time) for a chance at making the finals. Serbia will face Puerto Rico to decide the qualifier playoff teams.
FIBA reports that the turning point for the Dominican team was the winning of the third quarter by 26-10. “Powered by the much better defensive energy and offensive adjustments made by coach Melvyn Lopez, the Dominican Republic team pushed their on-court rivals one-way the street and stymied their offensive attack,” says the press release on the game.
FIBA credits Victor Liz and Gelvis Solano with the injection of high energy that decided the game. The press release on the game explains that stats don’t lie. In addition to a seven-rebound advantage over their opponent (39-32), the Dominican Republic took full advantage of points from turnovers, collecting 26 compared to only 9 from the Philippines.
In the press conference after the game, Gelvis Solano explained: “We discussed our defensive effort at the half. We agreed we were too lazy. That’s not us because we are usually a very aggressive team. We bring back our mentality on the court and find our way to win this important game for us. Now go on to the next one. Italy is an adamant team, but we are going to try to keep our Olympic dream alive.”
Follow the tournament:
FIBA – Philippines game
FIBA – Serbia game
2 July 2021