Chicago Bulls: Canada out of Olympic contention thanks to Satoransky
It is the time of the summer that Olympic qualifiers are up and running north of the border and in Europe. And there are some Chicago Bulls players that are representing their countries well throughout the Olympic qualifiers and in friendlies ahead of the actual games in Tokyo.
Star shooting guard Zach LaVine is representing the United States as part of a very talented backcourt unit with that team. And combo guard Tomas Satoransky is once again the captain for the Czech Republic, as they’re taking part in the Olympic qualifiers at the moment.
Sato helped lead the Czech Republic to a surprisingly high sixth-place finish in the FIBA World Cup back in 2019. And he got them off to a solid start in this round of Olympic qualifiers, which was played in Canada on July 3. The Czech Republic faced Canada north of the border on July 3 to get the run of Olympic qualifiers underway.
And it was surely a good game that was delivered between the Czech Republic and Canada this weekend. Canada is a team that has a lot more NBA talent on the roster than the Czech side. But that didn’t stop Sato and his squad this weekend.
Chicago Bulls G Tomas Satoransky helps Czech Republic oust Canada from Olympic contention
The Czech Republic got the best of the Canadian side in this qualifier by a close final score of 103-101 in overtime. Canada forced overtime with a big fourth-quarter rally. But it was a game-winning two-point bucket that Sato hit over the Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort that won the game for the Czech side.
Sato was solid once again in this game for the Czech side. He always turns it up in international play, but this was a very clutch performance for his country. Sato registered 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and one steal. And he shot 6-of-12 from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
What is scary for Sato and the Czech Republic is that this is definitely not his peak self playing for his country. Sato has another level that he can, and likely will turn it up to in qualifiers and in the actual Olympics (if the Czech Republic makes it that far).
The final step for the Czech Republic to get to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, later this month is taking care of business in the final qualifier game in Canada. Sato and the Czech side will face Greece on July 4 for the final qualifier game north of the border for these two teams.
Meanwhile, Canada is now eliminated from contention for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. This is another disappointing note for Canada ahead of the Summer Olympics, especially considering they hosted qualifiers in their own country.
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Sato and the Czech side are now one game away from being able to make the trip to Tokyo. Meanwhile, Canada is now out despite having one of the better rosters of all of the countries in contention for the Summer Olympics.
Canada boasted some notable NBA names on their qualifying roster such as Dort, Golden State Warriors wing Andrew Wiggins, New York Knicks shooting guard RJ Barrett, New Orleans Pelicans shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Dallas Mavericks big man Dwight Powell, among others.