Japan secures a place in Paris; Finland and Markkanen in Olympic qualifiers

2023-09-02T11:15:42+00:00 2023-09-02T16:46:58+00:00.

Aris Barkas

02/Sep/23 11:15

Eurohoops.net

Lauri Markkanen and Finland are all but qualified in the upcoming pre-Olympics qualifiers after beating Venezuela

By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net

Thanks to one more stellar game by Lauri Markkanen who scored 32 points, Finland completed the FIBA World Cup on a high note beating Venezuela 90-75 in the first game of Group O.

With a total of 23 teams qualifying directly to the Olympics and the pre-Olympic tournaments – plus France having secured a spot as the hosts – Finland’s 2-3 record with a -24 goal average should be enough to give them one of the tickets to pre-Olympic qualifiers, depending the other results.

It wasn’t easy with Finland leading just by five (67-62) entering the last period, however, Finland’s quality proved to be enough for a strong finish.

The “pack of wolves” led even by 18 (88-70) one minute before the final buzzer on a partial 21-8 run.

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