Spain will play in the Olympics for the seventh consecutive time after beating Bahamas 86-78 before 7000 fans in Valencia, Spain.
The win will send 39-year old Spanish swingman Rudy Fernandez to the Olympics for the sixth time, a first for any men’s basketball player.
Lorenzo Brown had four threes and 18 points for Spain, Willy Hernangomez added 14, Santiago Aldama (named Tissot MVP of the tournament) scored 12 and Usman Garuba added 10. Bahamas, who only made 8 of 23 from beyond the arc, were led by NBA players Buddy Hield with 19 points, Deandre Ayton with 17 (and 14 rebounds), Eric Gordon with 15 and future lottery pick Valdez Edgecombe added 12.
Spain, who won all four games at home in Valencia, will play Greece, Australia and Canada in Group A in Lille, France in late July.
Greece qualified for the Olympics for the first time since 2008 by beating Croatia 80-69 on Sunday before 11,000 fans in Piraeus.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (named Tissot MVP of the tournament) had 23 points and 8 rebounds, while Georgios Papagiannis notched 19 and point guard Nick Calathes added 14 points and 11 assists for Greece, who led most of the game.
“It’s very nice to qualify because that’s the first step,” Papagiannis said. “At the Olympics, we’re looking to do something really good there.”
Ivica Zubac had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Croatia, while Mateo Dreznjak and Mario Hezonja both scored 15 and Dario Saric added 14.
In the Olympics Group A in late July, Greece will face Spain, Australia and Canada, who won bronze at the FIBA World Cup in Manila.
Brazil, meanwhile, had a 19-0 run over the final three minutes of the first quarter to rout home favorites Latvia 94-69 in Riga.
Former Toronto Raptors forward Bruno Caboclo sealed the quarter with a 65-foot shot to give Brazil a 34-11 lead.
Rihards Lomazs scored 15 for Latvia, while Rolands Smits and Arturs Zagars added 14 each.
Brazil will play in Olympics Group B against France July 27, Germany July 30 and Japan Aug. 2 in Lille, France.
Puerto Rico made 12 of 25 from beyond the arc to beat Lithuania 79-68 before a passionate home crowd of 13,000 fans in San Juan to qualify for Group C in the Olympics to play South Sudan and powerhouses USA and Serbia.
Jose Alvarado (Tissot MVP of the tournament) made four threes and notched 23 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals to lead Puerto Rico, while Tremont Waters added 18 points.
“We made history tonight” said Puerto Rico coach Nelson Colon. “We beat 2 of the most powerful teams in the world here in our island and in front of our people because we believed and we prepared ourselves for this moment.”
Lithuania was led by Rokas Jokubaitis (16 points and 3 assists), Domantas Sabonis (10 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks) and Edgaras Ulanovas (8 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists).
“We let this game get away from us,” said Sabonis. “We couldn’t find ways to score on the offensive end and especially get stops when we needed to.”
Slovenia (with Luka Doncic), Italy and Dominican Republic were among contenders who failed to qualify for the 2024 Olympics.
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