The final four cast of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia, is set as Gilas Pilipinas faces Brazil in the crossover semifinals.
Ranked 12th in the world, Brazil topped Group B via a quotient tiebreaker despite a stunning 77-74 loss to No. 68 Cameroon on Thursday, July 4 (Friday, July 5, Manila time).
Brazil, Cameroon, and other Group B team Montenegro compiled identical 1-1 records, but the South American squad clinched the top seed with a superior point differential of +6.
Cameroon also advanced to the final four with a -1 point differential, while world No. 17 Montenegro – bannered by two-time NBA All-Star Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls – surprisingly got the boot with a -5 point differential.
In danger of getting eliminated after trailing by as many as 24 points, Brazil fought back in the second half and lost by only one possession.
Jeremiah Hill starred for Cameroon with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, including the three-pointer that broke a 74-74 deadlock with under a minute remaining and determined the final tally.
Brice Eyaga Bidias added 15 points in the win.
Leo Meindl and Lucas Dias paced Brazil with 19 and 16 points, respectively, while former NBA player Bruno Caboclo chimed in 10 points in the losing effort.
In the crossover semifinals, the No. 1 teams from Groups A and B will tangle with the No. 2 squads from the opposite group in a pair of knockout matches.
Brazil is the third top 25 team that the Philippines will face in the OQT as the Filipinos went up against world No. 6 Latvia and No. 23 Georgia in the group stage.
Gilas Pilipinas placed second in Group A via a quotient tiebreaker after an 89-80 upset win over Latvia and a 96-94 loss to Georgia, with all three squads finishing with the same 1-1 card.
Latvia earned the top spot in Group A with a +19 point differential followed by the Philippines (+7) and Georgia (-26).
The semifinals are slated on Saturday, July 6, with the Philippines and Brazil tangling at 8:30 pm, Manila time.
