France punched the final ticket to the Rio Olympics after beating Canada, 83-74, in the final of the Fiba Olympic qualifying tournament in Manila Sunday night at Mall of Asia Arena.
French star Tony Parker led the Les Bleus, dazzling his way to 26 points. He saved his best for last, scoring 13 points in the final six minutes to deny the Canadians’ comeback attempt.
Nando de Colo, France’s other starting guard, also came up big, capping his stellar performance throughout the tournament with 22 points and an MVP award.
Cory Joseph had 20 for Canada, which didn’t have any answers for the San Antonio Spurs veteran in the fourth quarter.
France joined Croatia and Serbia as the last three teams making the Olympics.
All photo by INQUIRER.net’s Tristan Tamayo.
