Greece’s historic exit, France’s talent against Germany’s discipline. OI-2024 Groups
Nikita Biryukov July 8, 2024, 14:15 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
All the participants in the Paris Olympic Games have been announced.
The basketball qualifying tournament that determines the final participants in the 2024 Olympic Games officially ended last night. Everyone dreams of playing at the Olympics, but only the best of the best managed to make it to Paris. Who took the last four tickets and what groups were formed – in the “Championship” material.
The first team to guarantee its participation in the Olympic Games was Brazil. The South American team defeated Latvia in the qualifying final by 94:69. The inaugural team of the last World Cup, coached by Luca Banca, could not resist the attacks of the Brazilians, who played an excellent game with Partizan forward Bruno Caboclo (21 points, four rebounds and one assist).
The Greek team led by Giannis Antetokounmpo then secured a ticket to Paris. The Greeks have not participated in the Olympic Games since 2008, so Vassilis Spanoulis’ team was extremely motivated to show its best side. The team did not lose a single match in the qualifying round, beating the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Slovenia and Croatia in turn. At the Olympics, we will see Giannis with Nick Calathes, Thomas Walkup, Georgios Papayannis, Kostas Papanikolaou and Konstantinos Mitoglou. Probably, at the beginning of the tournament, the MVP of the Euroleague Final Four 2024, Kostas Sloukas, will also join the Greek team.
Nick Calathes and Giannis Antetokounmpo
Photo by: FIBA
Well, what would the Olympics be without Spain? Without this European team, Paris would not be so boring, but we would definitely miss it. Furia Roja played against the United States in the finals in 2008 and 2012, putting up a serious fight against the favorite. In 2016, the Spaniards won bronze medals, and in 2020 they finished in the quarterfinals. Spain does not have NBA superstars, but it has assembled an excellent and strong team of the best Euroleague players. The European team defeated Lebanon, Angola, Finland and the Bahamas on its way to the Olympics.
The last participant in the French Games was the Puerto Rican national team. The country’s national team has not participated in the Olympic Games since 2004. At that tournament, the Puerto Ricans managed to reach the quarterfinals, where they lost to Italy. This is the team’s greatest achievement since 1964 (fourth place). Puerto Rico is led by New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jose Alvarado, who scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds in the final qualifying match against Lithuania. Of course, it is a shame that we will not see Domantas Sabonis, Marius Grigonis and Rokas Jokubaitis at the Olympics. But only the strongest made it to Paris.
As a result, all the participants in the 2024 Olympic basketball tournament have been announced. The men’s teams are divided into three groups.
Group A
CanadaAustraliaGreeceSpain
B Group
JapanFranceGermanyBrazil
Group C
South SudanSerbiaUnited StatesPuerto Rico
It is these national teams that will compete for Olympic gold. Group A turned out to be very equal and at the same time strong: each team can surprise and each has a very powerful composition. In the remaining groups, the favorites are immediately visible. In Group B there is France, led by Victor Vembanyama, and the winners of the last World Basketball Championship, Germany.
Group C: The champions of the last four Olympic Games, the United States, have gathered the best NBA players under their flag, ready to prove their superiority over others in practice. Serbia is also in this group with the current NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. The sister team of the Russian national team has an excellent composition, in addition to the Joker, it has many great players;
The video can be seen on Chaz NBA’s YouTube channel.
The US team is, of course, the main favorite for the upcoming Olympic tournament. No wonder, because the Americans are the most successful team in the history of the Olympic Games and even have a mind-blowing lineup. LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid – the names alone should strike terror into the eyes of opponents before the start of the match, and there are many more players who can shut down almost any opponent on the way to victory.
Each of the teams participating in the Olympic Games continues to train intensively before the start of the tournament. The start of the basketball part of the Olympic Games is scheduled for July 27. Australia will play Spain in the opening match at 12:00 Moscow time. Other teams will gradually join the fight. On August 10, the entire world will recognize the winners of the gold medal. Will the USA be able to win for the fifth time in a row or will someone stop the King, Steph and KD? We are looking forward to the start of the most intriguing and interesting tournament of the summer.
Two NBA legends, one goal:
Two NBA champions, one Olympic goal. LeBron and Curry are ready to rock in Paris
