Croatia remains on course with victory over Cameroon

Croatia vs Cameroon (Photo credit: FIBA)Photo Gallery>>(BEIJING, July 15) -- Croatia seized a 93-79 victory over Cameroon on the first day of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament to push ahead in the pursuit for a spot at the Beijing Olympic Games.

Marko Tomas netted 22 points for Croatia, while Harding Nana of Cameroon posted a game-high 24 points and collected four rebounds and three assists.

Croatia opened up a 20-point lead by half-time with 45-25 and stayed in control for the rest of the game to prevail.

An opening-match victory gave the team encouragement for the rest of the tournament. "The most important thing for us was to open the tournament with a win," said Marko Popovic, a guard with the Croatian national team. "I hope that this is the first step for us to proceed to the next round."

Coach Jasmin Repesa downplayed the easy win, drawing emphasis instead to the team's goal of qualifying for the Olympic Games, in which case "we had to be much much better at rebounding."

Repesa calls defending gold medalist Puerto Rico, which his team is to play next, "a very tough opponent." "It is a team that has excellent players in all positions, power forwards who can play both inside and outside the paint and shooting guards who can knock down jumpers," he said.

Puerto Rico, a favorite going into this tournament, caused one of the biggest upsets in basketball history by thrashing world No.1 the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games. The team will take on Croatia and Cameroon in days to come.

The top two teams in the group will keep the dream of qualifying for Beijing alive.