#Rio2016 Roundup - Day 9

Day 9 in the 2016 Rio Olympics Men’s Basketball tournament saw the favorites trot their way to separate victories, though Team USA had to go through the wringer before surviving France. Australia and Serbia, meanwhile, had easy times knocking off Venezuela and China respectively.

*The following also appears on FIBA.com.

#Rio2016 Roundup - Day 7

Day 7 in the 2016 Rio Olympics Men’s Basketball tournament saw Australia dominate China, USA nearly upset by Serbia, and France cruise past Venezuela.

*The following also appears on FIBA.com#Rio2016 Roundup - Day 7.

AUS over CHN, 93-68
Australia gave Andrew Bogut the afternoon off and still hammered China, 93-68, to clinch a top-four spot in Group A and a place in the Quarter-Finals.

#Rio2016 Roundup - Day 5

Day 5 in the 2016 Rio Olympics Men’s Basketball tournament had France nipping Serbia, the United States scrambling past Australia, and Venezuela notching win #1 at China’s expense.

*The following also appears on FIBA.com.

FRA over SRB, 76-75

Tony Parker shot France to a 76-75 victory over Serbia with a late jumper at the Carioca Arena 1.

France win it thanks to @_TonyParker09's game-winner! #Rio2016 #Basketball

A photo posted by FIBA (@fiba) on Aug 10, 2016 at 12:12pm PDT

Having scored just 4 points through the first 39 minutes and 29 seconds of the game, Parker buried the go-ahead basket with 31 seconds left to play and Bogdan Bogdanovic attempted to win for Serbia with a long three-pointer but his attempt rattled out.

Les Bleus, after an opening day defeat to Australia, have now won two straight while Serbia have fallen to 1-2.

Nando de Colo continues to supply scoring for France. He had a game-high 22 points.


USA over AUS, 98-88

The USA cleared their first major hurdle at the Olympics by beating Australia, 98-88, in a lively Carioca Arena 1.



After brushing aside China and Venezuela, the Americans encountered an unbeaten and very confident Australia team that led 54-49 at half-time with Pat Mills and Andrew Bogut scoring 14 points.

But Carmelo Anthony gave the two-time defending champions the scoring they needed and Kyrie Irving shifted into his FIBA Basketball World Cup MVP mode in the fourth quarter.

This #Rio2016 #Basketball game between @USAbasketball & @BasketballAus was intense! Incredible scoring performance by @CarmeloAnthony (31pts, 9/15 3pts)!

A photo posted by FIBA (@fiba) on Aug 10, 2016 at 4:57pm PDT

The USA shot 17 of 39 (44 percent) from beyond the arc and Anthony was an eye-popping 9-of-15. The four-time Olympian finished with a game-high 31 points. Matthew Dellavedova showed his quality for the Boomers with 11 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds.


VEN over CHN, 72-68

Venezuela claimed their first win of the Olympic Basketball Tournament by beating China, 72-68, on Wednesday night.

The Americas champions led by as many as 15 in the first half but the Asian champions rallied after the break as the game went down to the wire.

First win at #Rio2016‬ #Basketball‬ for Venezuela! China now 0-3.

A photo posted by FIBA (@fiba) on Aug 10, 2016 at 8:32pm PDT

Zhou QI scored two big baskets down the stretch, the latter one getting China within 64-63 with 1:22 to go. Nestor Colmenares scored the last basket of the game when he floated a shot over the outstretched arm of Yi Jianlian for a 66-63 advantage with 15.8 seconds. The contest then turned into a free-throw shooting procession and Venezuela did enough to hold on.

Off the bench, Colmenares finished with a team-high 16 points on a very efficient 8-of-11 shooting, to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Gregory Vargas was also productive, contributing 13 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds.


All images are from FIBA.


FOR MORE ON THE 2016 RIO OLYMPICS, CHECK THIS OUT!

FOLLOW THE AUTHOR ON TWITTER: @hoopnut

LIKE OUR FAN PAGE ON FACEBOOK, TOO!



Tweet

#Rio2016 Roundup - Day 3

The 2016 Rio Olympics Men’s Basketball tournament heated up on Day 3 with Australia tripping Serbia even as France netted its first win and Team USA continued to roll.

*The following also appears on FIBA.com.

AUS over SRB, 95-80
Australia won a classic Olympic encounter against Serbia, 95-80, on Monday to go top of Group A. In a real battle that was closer than the final score suggests, the teams slugged it out with Serbia going in front by seven early in the second half. The Boomers kept their poise, "hung together" in the words of coach Andrej Lemanis, and rediscovered their rhythm.

#Rio2016 Roundup - Day 1

The 2016 Rio Olympics Men’s Basketball tournament kicked off today with an emphatic win by Australia over France. It was followed by easy victories for title favorite Team USA and Euro powerhouse Serbia.

*The following also appears on FIBA.com.

AUS over FRA, 87-66
Australia landed telling blows in the third quarter and beat France, 87-66, on the opening day of the Olympic Basketball Tournament.

#FIBAOQT Manila Roundup Final Day

(Image from FIBA)

*These first appeared on FIBA.com.

France complete OQT sweep, advance to Rio

France completed the cast for the 2016 Olympics after they defeated Canada, 83-74, in the Final of the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila. The result meant Les Bleus swept all their four games and earned the last ticket to Rio 2016.

Turning Point: Canada were able to threaten early on, trailing by just 3 points at half-time, 39-36, but France turned up the heat in the third period. Coach Vincent Collet’s crew led by as many as ten points in that quarter, 48-38, and though Canada would try to rally till the final moments, it was clear which team had more quality.