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US finish group stage unbeaten
Champs down gritty France
The US men’s basketball team closed out pool play with an unbeaten record but a nervy 100-97 win over France on Sunday confirmed that getting to the top step of the Olympic podium will not be an easy climb.
After a pair of blowout wins over China and Venezuela to open the tournament, the United States have received a wake-up call in the way of narrow three-point wins over France and Serbia and a battling 10-point victory against Australia.
The alarm bells continued to ring on Sunday as the United States allowed France, playing without talismanic point guard Tony Parker, to rally from a 16-point deficit late in the third quarter to turn a predicted rout into another nail-biter.
Despite their troubles, the US finished top of Group A with a perfect 5-0 record to run their Olympic winning streak to 22 games and remain the favourite to claim what would be a third straight gold on the final day of the Games.
The United States will not know their quarterfinal opponent until after the final Group B matches on Monday but are well aware that they need to raise their game considerably if they hope to make it to the final.
While the performance has been uneven, their coach Mike Krzyzewski remained unconcerned, insisting there is only one statistic that matters and that is the win column, where his team is perfect.
Like most nations lining up against the United States, France came into the contest still searching for a first-ever Olympic win over their opponents.
The two had met five times previously with the closest France coming to a victory before Sunday being a 10-point loss in the gold medal game at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
France came closer to ending that run in their sixth encounter and fancied their chances, but to beat a US team still not firing on all cylinders will take something special.
In other Group A action, Australia (4-1) locked down second place after easing past Venezuela 81-56, while France (3-2) finished third.
Serbia (2-3), playing in the final pool game, thumped winless China 94-60 to finish fourth and grab a spot in the knockout round.
Group B wraps up on Monday with three games — Spain vs Argentina, Brazil vs Nigeria and Lithuania vs Croatia.
US eves dominate
Meanwhile the US women's basketball team wrapped up their preliminary round play in familiar blowout style by routing China 105-62, storming into the quarterfinals unbeaten and on course for a sixth straight gold medal.
Serbia also secured a spot in the last eight, grinding out a 95-88 victory over winless Senegal, while Spain beat Canada 73-60 in the final Group B clash to set the matchups.
After a pair of blowout wins over China and Venezuela to open the tournament, the United States have received a wake-up call in the way of narrow three-point wins over France and Serbia and a battling 10-point victory against Australia.
The alarm bells continued to ring on Sunday as the United States allowed France, playing without talismanic point guard Tony Parker, to rally from a 16-point deficit late in the third quarter to turn a predicted rout into another nail-biter.
Despite their troubles, the US finished top of Group A with a perfect 5-0 record to run their Olympic winning streak to 22 games and remain the favourite to claim what would be a third straight gold on the final day of the Games.
The United States will not know their quarterfinal opponent until after the final Group B matches on Monday but are well aware that they need to raise their game considerably if they hope to make it to the final.
While the performance has been uneven, their coach Mike Krzyzewski remained unconcerned, insisting there is only one statistic that matters and that is the win column, where his team is perfect.
Like most nations lining up against the United States, France came into the contest still searching for a first-ever Olympic win over their opponents.
The two had met five times previously with the closest France coming to a victory before Sunday being a 10-point loss in the gold medal game at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
France came closer to ending that run in their sixth encounter and fancied their chances, but to beat a US team still not firing on all cylinders will take something special.
In other Group A action, Australia (4-1) locked down second place after easing past Venezuela 81-56, while France (3-2) finished third.
Serbia (2-3), playing in the final pool game, thumped winless China 94-60 to finish fourth and grab a spot in the knockout round.
Group B wraps up on Monday with three games — Spain vs Argentina, Brazil vs Nigeria and Lithuania vs Croatia.
US eves dominate
Meanwhile the US women's basketball team wrapped up their preliminary round play in familiar blowout style by routing China 105-62, storming into the quarterfinals unbeaten and on course for a sixth straight gold medal.
Serbia also secured a spot in the last eight, grinding out a 95-88 victory over winless Senegal, while Spain beat Canada 73-60 in the final Group B clash to set the matchups.
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(Published 15 August 2016, 19:52 IST)
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