Cory Joseph sank three of four pressure-laden free-throws in the dying seconds yesterday as Canada beat Senegal 58-55 to storm into the semi-finals of an Olympic basketball qualifying tournament in Manila.
 The exploits of Joseph, a reserve National Basketball Association point guard for the Toronto Raptors, killed off a Senegalese rally that saw the Africans get to within a basket, 55-53, with less than 16 seconds left.
 With their second win in two matches, the Canadians are likely to avoid France in the semi-finals on Saturday as they seek to capture the lone Rio Games slot on offer in Manila.
 “It was a great game if you love defence... They switched a lot on us which made it very difficult,” Canadian coach Jay Triano told reporters.
 Real Madrid forward Maurice Ndour, who led all scorers with 16 points, converted his fourth three-point shot of the game as the shot clock expired to bring Senegal to within two and set up the dramatic finish.
 But Joseph’s nerveless free-throw shooting nullified Senegal’s desperate fouling, aimed at stopping the clock. The Africans could only manage a Clevin Finley Hannah lay-up as an answer as the game clock ran out.
 Joseph’s 13 points led a balanced Canadian attack, with Milwaukee Bucks guard Ennis Tyler adding 12. Melvin Ejim pitched in with 11, along with a game-high eight rebounds.
 France, the Manila tournament’s highest-ranked team, beat hosts Philippines on Tuesday and will aim to top their group when they play New Zealand today. A win would put the French, ranked fifth in the world, in a potential semi-final against either Turkey or Senegal.
 Canada, who subdued Turkey on Tuesday, are likely to face in the other semi-final the winner of the match between New Zealand and the Philippines.
 Australia, Argentina, Brazil, China, Lithuania, Nigeria, Spain, the United States and Venezuela have already qualified for the Rio Olympics men’s basketball tournament in August.
Two other teams will be added from the winners of the other qualifying tournaments now being held in Italy and Serbia.
 France, led by NBA star Tony Parker, got off to a perfect start as the world’s fifth-ranked basketball team threw off the Philippines 93-84. The veteran San Antonio Spurs point guard added 21 points and six assists to Nando De Colo’s 27 points and six rebounds as the French backcourt led a fightback from an early 10-point deficit to the host nation.
 “Tony Parker was a handful with the ball screen offence... The real strength of the French was in their guards,” the Philippines’ American coach Tab Baldwin told reporters.
 Parker’s National Basketball Association teammate Boris Diaw was the fulcrum of the team’s offence, and contributed nine points, nine rebounds and six assists to the tally. “Boris is a key piece of our team. He plays like a point guard,” Parker said.
 The Philippines ended the first quarter 30-22 ahead thanks to Andray Blatche’s 14 points, but the naturalised Filipino, who once played for the NBA’s New Jersey Nets, went cold in the second quarter.
 The big-bodied centre still led the hosts’ losing effort with 21 points, eight rebounds, three steals and a block.
 In the other opening-day game, Toronto Raptors point guard Cory Joseph poured in 21 points and added three rebounds and five assists as Canada beat Turkey 77-69. The Canadians, also featuring centre Tristan Thompson of the reigning NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers, will gun for a semi-finals spot when they go against minnows Senegal.