Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade: Serbia vs everybody / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: SIPA – Scanpix Credit SIPA – Scanpix

The Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade is set to begin today and one team is not gonna be there. Senegal NT, in fact, is still stuck in Germany and won't be able to play in the tournament.

Serbia / Schedule

Dominican Republic SerbiaTue18:15 GMT Serbia New ZealandWed18:15 GMT

Three players and one member of the coaching staff tested positive for Covid-19 and due to the travel restrictions the whole team wasn't able to reach Belgrade in time. The African team was set to play today against Puerto Rico but that game won't happen. Italy and Puerto Rico, the other two teams that were in the same group as Senegal, are already qualified for the semifinals. They'll still play a game between each other to decide which team earns no. 1 spot in the group, so basically, the winner of this one will probably avoid Serbia in the semifinals.

Despite multiple absences, Serbia and Italy look like the teams set to play in the tournament final. Serbia will miss stars like Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Nikola Milutinov but Milos Teodosic, Euroleague MVP Vasilije Micic, Boban Marjanovic, and Nikola Kalinic will all be there. Italy will miss stars like Marco Belinelli, Danilo Gallinari, and Gigi Datome, while 2022 draft prospect Paolo Banchero won't be able to join due to his commitment to Duke University. Italy will put all its hopes to obtain a spot in the Olympics on the talents of Nicolo Melli, Achille Polonara, the reigning MVP of the Italian league Stefano Tonut, and Golden State Warriors guard Niccolo Mannion. All the other teams will start as outsiders but in a situation like the one we're living in, always full of uncertainty, there might be room for surprises.

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic will battle for a spot in the semifinals of the tournament mainly against the Philippines. Their roster is filled with players that have European experience like Brandone Francis (Gipuzkoa), Andres Feliz (Spanish third division), Rigoberto Mendoza (Maccabi Haifa), Sadiel Rojas (Murcia), and Torres Cuevas (Betis). Rojas, Liz, and Vargas are the veterans of the group but the main issue remains in the frontcourt where the Dominican Republic doesn't have many guys with size and experience, which against Serbia could be a huge issue.

Philippines

The Philippines are a really young team, with most of their players under 25. If the Dominican Republic shows the majority of the talent in the backcourt, the Philippines intrigue in the frontcourt with the presence of players like Kai Sotto, Justine Baltazar, and Ange Kouame. Sotto is probably the most intriguing player in the recent history of Philippines basketball. A big man with a really nice touch from the outside, very good dribbling and passing skills, and a high basketball IQ. In the past few months, he signed a deal with the Adelaide 36ers in Australia and many believe he has the potential to become an NBA player. He'll definitely be the man to watch in this tournament for the Philippines.

Serbia

This is not the shiniest version of Serbian NT. The two biggest stars of the team, NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, and Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, won't be able to help during the qualifying tournament. Nikola Milutinov, still recovering from an injury, won't be in Belgrade either. From the NBA the help will arrive mostly from Boban Marjanovic and Nemanja Bjelica.

Despite these absences, though, the Serbian national team can still count on the Euroleague MVP Vasilije Micic and the Eurocup MVP Milos Teodosic, so there's still a lot of talent available, and if you add the fact that they're going to play at home, you can easily understand why Serbia is still considered the strongest team of this tournament. They're the team to beat, plain and simple.

Italy

Just like Serbia, Italy will miss two of its biggest stars. Both Danilo Gallinari and Marco Belinelli won't be available. Even veteran forward Gigi Datome won't join the team after a very long season with AX Armani Exchange Milan. Coach Sacchetti will need to adapt and use the versatility of this team as its main strength.

Nicolo Melli and Achille Polonara will be the two key factors, sharing minutes both as 4 and 5. Point guard Stefano Tonut, fresh of the MVP title of the Italian league, will be the main creator from the perimeter together with Dinamo Sassari point guard Marco Spissu. On the wings, Simone Fontecchio and Awudu Abass will be the main shooting threats for the opponents. 21-year-old Alessandro Pajola, who played an amazing season with Virtus Bologna, will bring the necessary energy on defense with his disruptive energy. The lack of a true big man is something that Italy knows way too well and this time it won't be different with only Amedeo Tessitori as the only real number 5 on the roster.

Puerto Rico

As always, Puerto Rico may not be the most talented team around but it's also a pretty feisty one to play in this type of competition. They're resilient and they play their heart out. The most dangerous players are definitely Gian Clavell, Gary Browne, and Isaiah Pineiro. All these guys play in Europe at a pretty high level and Pineiro is becoming one of the most versatile forward in the European market (the player is expected to strike a deal with Turkish team Darussafaka after playing a great season with VEF Riga in Latvia).

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