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Tunisia shuts door on Gilas Men's outright Olympic shot with rout in classification game

Omar Abada goes for a no-look pass to a Tunisian teammate. FIBA
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Tunisia shattered Gilas Pilipinas Men's last ditch of making the Tokyo Olympics outright with an 86-67 rout in the classification phase of the FIBA World Cup at the Wukesong Sports Center in Beijing on Friday night.

Tunisia quickly opened a 27-10 lead in the first quarter and never looked back as Gilas Men struggled against their foe's defensive approach.

Omar Abada made 16 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals for Tunisia, which moved up to 2-2, solidifying its bid of at least making the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament next year.

Michael Roll added 13 points, one rebound, four assists, one steal, and one block.

Salah Mejri (12 points and 12 rebounds) and Makram Ben Romdhane (10 points and 10 rebounds) each posted a double-double.

Andray Blatche made 24 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and two steals for Gilas Men, who at 0-4 will miss out on a Top 2 finish in Group N, which would have meant a spot in the OQT.

Gilas Men, who can still derail Iran's outright shot at the Olympics, can now only hope for a wildcard invite in the OQT if they still want to make the trip to Tokyo.

Iran's Olympic bid got a huge boost with a 71-62 win against Angola earlier Friday.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno