Puerto Rico produced a major surprise when it beat Slovenia 81-70 to book its place in the semifinals of the Olympic qualifying tournament on Friday. In the other early game, Marko Popovic scored 17 points as Croatia crushed Canada 83-62. Puerto Rico will now face either New Zealand or hosts Greece in the semifinal on Saturday while Croatia will play either Germany or Brazil. The other two quarterfinals take place later on Friday. Puerto Rico took the early advantage over the fancied Slovenians but the sides were tied 34-34 at half-time. The crucial period came late in the third quarter when Puerto Rico, superbly led by Orlando Magic point guard Carlos Arroyo who scored 17 points, eased into a 59-52 lead and then held on in the final quarter to prolong their Olympic hopes. Croatia had to work hard in the first quarter against Canada but by half-time it had opened up a 36-29 lead. The match hinged on the third quarter as Croatia piled on the points, scoring 26 to Canada's 13 to open up a 20-point gap at 62-42. The winners of the semifinals will qualify for Beijing along with the winner of the play-off between the two losing semifinalists.
