Francis to Represent Dominican Republic in Olympic Qualifier
June 28, 2021 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Brandone Francis is set to represent the Dominican Republic in a 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifying tournament being held this week in Serbia.
A Texas Tech legend and La Romana, Dominican Republic native, Francis was a key member of the 2019 NCAA National Championship runner-up and 2018 NCAA Elite 8 teams. He is currently playing professionally in Spain for Acunsa GBC in the Liga ACB league.
Francis and the Dominican Republic will open the qualifying tournament on Tuesday against Serbia at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall before playing the Philippines on Thursday. Fans can watch the games on ESPN+ with Tuesday's game at 1:05 p.m. and Thursday's game 12:50 p.m. The DR, Serbia and Philippines make up Group A in the Belgrade Olympic Qualifying Tournament, while Group B consists of Puerto Rico, Italy and Senegal. There are four remaining places in the 12-team Tokyo Olympics with four qualifying tournaments sending the winner to the Games. Along with in Serbia, Olympic Qualifying Tournaments are being held in Lithuania, Canada and Croatia.
Francis became a fan favorite during his time in Lubbock, helping lead the Red Raiders to a historic run that led to the program's first Elite 8 run and then the final Monday night of the 2019-20 season after a win over Michigan State in the opening game of the Final Four in Minneapolis. Francis would match a career-high by scoring 17 points in the NCAA National Championship Final against Virginia where he finished the game shooting 7-for-12 from the field with three 3-pointers in the overtime loss. He finished his senior season averaging 6.5 points per game with 44 3-pointers. Â
Winners of the tournaments in Croatia and Serbia will join Australia and Nigeria in Group B in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the winner in Lithuania will round out Group C, which already consists of Argentina, Japan and Spain. The winner of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Canada will join the United States, France and Iran in Group A. The Dominican Republic goes into the qualifier at No. 19 in the FIBAÂ World Ranking.Â
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A Texas Tech legend and La Romana, Dominican Republic native, Francis was a key member of the 2019 NCAA National Championship runner-up and 2018 NCAA Elite 8 teams. He is currently playing professionally in Spain for Acunsa GBC in the Liga ACB league.
Francis and the Dominican Republic will open the qualifying tournament on Tuesday against Serbia at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall before playing the Philippines on Thursday. Fans can watch the games on ESPN+ with Tuesday's game at 1:05 p.m. and Thursday's game 12:50 p.m. The DR, Serbia and Philippines make up Group A in the Belgrade Olympic Qualifying Tournament, while Group B consists of Puerto Rico, Italy and Senegal. There are four remaining places in the 12-team Tokyo Olympics with four qualifying tournaments sending the winner to the Games. Along with in Serbia, Olympic Qualifying Tournaments are being held in Lithuania, Canada and Croatia.
Francis became a fan favorite during his time in Lubbock, helping lead the Red Raiders to a historic run that led to the program's first Elite 8 run and then the final Monday night of the 2019-20 season after a win over Michigan State in the opening game of the Final Four in Minneapolis. Francis would match a career-high by scoring 17 points in the NCAA National Championship Final against Virginia where he finished the game shooting 7-for-12 from the field with three 3-pointers in the overtime loss. He finished his senior season averaging 6.5 points per game with 44 3-pointers. Â
Winners of the tournaments in Croatia and Serbia will join Australia and Nigeria in Group B in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the winner in Lithuania will round out Group C, which already consists of Argentina, Japan and Spain. The winner of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Canada will join the United States, France and Iran in Group A. The Dominican Republic goes into the qualifier at No. 19 in the FIBAÂ World Ranking.Â
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