While some Warriors have already qualified for Olympic basketball competition in Tokyo, Andrew Wiggins (Canada), Mychal Mulder (Canada) and Nico Mannion (Italy) are competing to claim the final spots in the Summer Games.
While eight spots have already been claimed in this year’s men’s basketball Olympics field, the remaining four will be determined by who wins these current Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQT).
Through the Group Phase of their respective OQTs this week, Canada and Italy have swept the competition to advance to this weekend’s semifinals for each qualifier.
Wiggins led his squad in scoring through both of their wins this week at the OQT in Victoria, Canada, defeating Greece and China. The guard/forward is averaging 21.5 points per game on 46-percent (6-for-13) shooting on 3-pointers along with 5.0 rebounds thus far.
Also on Team Canada is sharpshooting Dub Mychal Mulder. Through his 21 minutes of play across two games, the guard has chipped in 10 points on 2-for-4 made from 3-point distance.
Canada has cemented themselves as the top seed in their group and will advance to their tournament’s semifinals on Saturday, with the time of that game still to be determined. They will play the winner of Czech Republic and Uruguay, a matchup that tips off Thursday night.
Mannion also had himself quite the outing in Italy’s lone game in the group phase, tying for the team lead with 21 points while also leading the way with six assists in their win over Puerto Rico at the OQT in Belgrade, Serbia. The guard played the fourth most minutes (24) on the team and went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
With the win, Italy also sits atop their group and will play the Dominican Republic on Saturday (1 p.m.)
Additional details and updates on the Qualifying Tournaments can be found on FIBA.basketball.
Wiggins, Mulder and Mannion sit two wins away from qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, with a loss on either Saturday or Sunday ending that possibility.
Olympic basketball tips off on July 25 and runs through Aug. 7. Draymond Green (USA), Steve Kerr (USA) and Mike Brown (Nigeria) have already qualified with their respective teams. They await to see if Wiggins, Mulder and Mannion will join in the action.