John Calipari and The Dominican Republic remain alive for the country’s first-ever Olympic berth, but Mike Rosario and Puerto Rico are out.
The Calipari-coached Dominican Republic overcame a 20-point, second-quarter deficit to beat Macedonia 86-76 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela.
Francisco Garcia led the DR with 28 points, including four 3-pointers, and Jack Michael Martinez tallied 14 points and 13 rebounds. Al Horford notched 14 points and 15 boards.
Karl Towns, the 6-10 rising sophomore from St. Joe’s-Metuchen High School, did not play for the DR.
“I’ve coached a lot of basketball games in my life, a bunch of Final Fours and national championship games, and this will be one of those games that I remember,” Calipari, who won his first NCAA championship with Kentucky in April, said on his Website.
“We were down 20 with a lot at stake and we still came back and won. I’m just really happy for the players and the team because they just showed a lot of pride, a lot of guts and a lot of toughness.”
