Dominican Republic wins

Coach Melvyn Lopez said the ‘Pearl of the Antilles’ Dominican Republic team gave him a happy result with its 94-67 stopping of Gilas Pilipinas on Friday in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Begrade.

“I’m happy with the players who played. These are the players that I am confident with,” said Lopez.

Victor Liz shot 23 points for Dominican Republic, which will now battle Italy for a finals’ slot, while Serbia clashes with Puerto Rico for the other ticket in the winner-take-all championship.

The encounter wasn’t something coach Tab Baldwin was proud of.

“We will head back home with a decent performance against Serbia, and a disappointing game with the Dominican Republic,” said Baldwin.