Hosts Italy, Serbia win opener at Olympic qualifying events

Posted July 04, 2016 7:00 am

By The Associated Press

Hosts Italy and Serbia got off to winning starts Monday in the final qualifying tournaments for men's basketball at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

In Turin, Italy's Andrea Bargnani scored 15 points to help the two-time silver medalist down Tunisia 68-41 in Group B.

In Belgrade, 2014 world championship runner-up Serbia led Puerto Rico by 20 points before winning 87-81 in Group A.

A third qualifying tournament starts in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday. From each of the three six-nation events, one team will earn an Olympic berth to complete the 12-team draw in Rio.

Also in Turin, former two-time European champion Greece downed Iran 78-53 in Group A, while Dairis Bertans' 20 points led Latvia in an 88-48 routing of Japan in Group B of the Belgrade event.

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