The Olympic qualifying tournament couldn’t have been more thrilling. Slovenia qualified for the Semi-Finals after finishing second place in Group A. The OQT in Greece features Slovenia, Greece, Egypt, the Dominican Republic, Croatia, and New Zealand. They are divided into two groups of three and the top two teams in each group will qualify for the Semis. After Slovenia’s dominant victory over New Zealand, the SF picture has become much more interesting. Greece won its first game against Dominican Republic led by Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, they needed to win their next game against Egypt to qualify.

On the other hand, Luka Doncic, who is awaiting his opponent, might face the Greek Freak in the SFs. Unfortunately, Giannis did not play the game against Egypt. Why is that? The Greek Freak was injured during a play in the second quarter, however, he continued to play, dropping 32 points against the Dominican Republic. However, the injury may just be quite concerning.

Greece is currently 2nd in Group B and they could have still qualified, even if they lost their next game. Playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo, all they had to do was avoid losing the game by a maximum of 41 points. And Egypt ended up winning the game 93-71. Antetokounmpo’s absence against Egypt could be a very big problem for Greece. The showdown against Luka Doncic will be one to look out for, but with the Greek Freak not on the floor, it will be alarming, considering they’d be at risk of not having him in Paris.

The last time Greece competed in the Olympics was in 2008. They have a chance at making a comeback, and Giannis might just make his first-ever appearance. But it all depends on their future game against Slovenia.

On the other hand, things haven’t seemed so joyful for Doncic and Co. as well. They lost their first game against Croatia, which was a problem. However, as they now look to face Greece, this would be more than a showdown to look out for.

Giannis Antetokounmpo will look to run over Slovenia

On the bright side, his injury may not be so serious considering how Giannis continued playing against the Dominican Republic. Perhaps he sat out against Egypt, after considering the obvious outcome. The two NBA stars will face off to advance to the Finals. This will very well be as exciting as a playoff game, as even in the NBA, Giannis and Luka can only face each other in the postseason unless they make the Finals. The Mavs’ talisman is coming off a long playoff run, whereas Giannis and the Bucks had crashed out against the Pacers.

So far, in OQT Greece, the home team has been the strongest with a perfect record. Fans can watch the game on Courtside 1891 where all the OQT games have been live streamed. It will be interesting to see the two-time MVP face the future MVP in the Semi-Finals on Saturday. The winner of which locks their slot in a group featuring Canada, Australia, and the winner of the Spain OQT tournament.

What are your thoughts on this? Who do you think will qualify for the Olympics? Let us know in the comments.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what brand maker, Leonard Armato, had to say about the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe, check out this exclusive video by EssentiallySports.