Spain, Canada, France and Germany grabbed respective wins in a busy Tuesday in Lille, France.
Spain tops Greece; Canada, France, Germany improve to 2-0
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Spain captured its first win at the 2024 Olympic Games by defeating Greece 84-77 on Tuesday afternoon. The result left Spain 1-1 in Group A and dropped Greece to 0-2. Both teams play their final group stage games on Friday. The top two teams from each group and the two third-place teams with the best records will reach the quarterfinals.
Santi Aldama paced Spain with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Sergio Llull of Real Madrid tallied 13 points and 7 assists, FC Barcelona’s Willy Hernangomez posted 11 points and 7 boards, Rudy Fernandez added 10 points and Lorenzo Brown of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens dished 10 assists for the winners.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Greece with 27 points and 11 rebounds, Vassilis Toliopoulos of Aris Midea Thessaloniki contributed 14 points and Nick Calathes had 8 points and 7 assists in defeat.
Greece jumped out to a 3-9 start thanks to triples form the AS Monaco duo of Calathes and Georgios Papagiannis. Giannis Antetokounmpo started to leave his mark and his steal and dish to Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens forward Konstantinos Mitoglou made it 10-17. That’s when Spain went to its bench and Llull came in. After a Calathes three extended the Greece lead to 12-20, Llull scored 8 points in less than 2 minutes to bring Spain within 21-22 at the end of the first quarter. His next three gave Spain its first lead and he later dished assists to threes for Valencia Basket’s Jaime Pradilla, Fernandez and Brown as Spain went ahead 36-29. Alex Abrines of FC Barcelona added 2 more triples as Spain roared to a 49-35 halftime lead.
Despite strong play from Brown, back-to-back threes by Thomas Walkup and Kostas Papanikolaou of Olympiacos Piraeus sparked Greece and Antetokounmpo’s dunk made it 55-47. Willy Hernangomez restored a double-digit lead for Spain. A three-pointer by Toliopoulos on the third-quarter buzzer drew the Greeks within 62-56. Antetokounmpo scored the first 5 points of the fourth quarter before Fernandez responded with a three for Spain. Antetokounmpo completed the comeback with a dunk to even things at 71-71 with less than 5 minutes remaining. However, Spain held Greece scoreless for the next 3+ minutes while Aldama started and finished an 8-0 run to regain control. Greece fought back to within 3, but Antetokounmpo missed a three-pointer and Willy Hernangomez all but iced the game from the line with 21.8 seconds to go.
Canada improves to 2-0 by downing Australia
Canada took a big step towards the quarterfinals with a 93-83 victory over Australia. The result lifted Canada to 2-0 in Group A and saw Australia drop to 1-1. After trailing by 4 at halftime, R.J. Barrett scored 17 points in third quarter alone as Canada turned the game around and held on for good.
Barrett led the way for the winners with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks added 16 points apiece and Luguentz Dort scored 11. Josh Giddey amassed 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for Australia, former Zalgiris Kaunas star Jock Landale posted 16 points and 12 rebounds and Dante Exum netted 15 points in defeat.
Led by Giddey, Australia was ahead for most of the opening quarter, which finished 26-28 in favor of the Boomers. Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort combined on a 7-0 Canada run early in the second quarter to make it 33-31. Despite some great plays by Gilgeous-Alexander, a strong finish by Australia, including a Jack McVeigh three-pointer and a Giddey floater, made it 45-49 at the break.
Canada came out with more energy with the restart and outscored Australia 21-7 over the first 6 minutes of the second half with a red-hot Barrett scoring 9 of those points. The last of those gave Canada a double-digit lead, 66-56. Former EuroLeague star Exum revived the Boomers and a pair of McVeigh triples made it 72-70 at the end of the quarter. An 11-2 run top open the fourth quarter capped by a three by Barrett gave Canada a double-digit lead. Exum and Landale tried to fuel an Australian comeback, but Canada held firm until the final buzzer.
Strazel leads France to OT victory
France remained undefeated in Group B by edging Japan 90-94 in overtime. AS Monaco guard Mathew Strazel took the game to overtime with a four-point game with 10.2 seconds left in regulation. France improved to 2-0 while Japan dropped to 0-2.
Victor Wembanyama, formerly of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, led the winners with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Strazel added 17 points, Evan Fournier had 14 while Guerschon Yabusele of Real Madrid got 13 for France. Yuki Kawamura led Japan with 29 points. Rui Hachimura added 14 and Josh Hawkinson 16.
Hachimura stepped up early, giving Japan a 7-5 lead. Wembanyama followed a jumper with his second three-pointer to put France in charge, 7-12. Rudy Gobert and Fournier stepped up for Les Bleus, then Yabusele sank back-to-back triples to boost the French margin to 18-27. Virtus Segafredo guard Isaia Cordinier singlehandedly kept France ahead, 25-32, after 10 minutes. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens center Mathias Lessort dunked twice and added a layup for a 34-40 French lead midway through the second quarter. Japan used an 8-0 run that Hachimura capped with a fadeaway jumper to take a 42-40 lead. Fournier and Strazel provided answers on offense, making France regain a 44-49 edge at halftime.
Kawamura and Hawkinson each struck from downtown for a 55-51 Japanese lead soon after the break. Strazel and Yabusele rescued France and Gobert's dunk fixed the score at 64-69 after 30 minutes. Nando De Colo of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne kept France in charge, 72-77, with 6 minutes left. Yakamura and Hawkinson fueled an 8-0 run that made Japan regain an 80-77 lead. Fournier struck from beyond the arc and Kawamura hit 4 of 4 free throws in the final minute for a 84-80 game. With the game of the line, Strazel sent the crowd to their feet with a wild four-point play off the dribble that tied it at 84-84 with 10.2 seconds left. Kawamura missed almost at the buzzer. Wembanyama had the game's next eight points, allowing France to get a 84-92 lead. Japan rallied within 90-92 but Strazel sealed the outcome from the foul line.
Germany wins again in Group B
Germany remained undefeated and set a do-or-die game for first place in Group B by topping Brazil 73-86 on Tuesday. Germany and France face each other on Friday. Both teams locked their quarterfinals spot, and the winner will be the first-ranked team in the group. Brazil faces Japan and only the winner will have chances to reach the next round.
Dennis Schroeder paced the winners with 20 points. Franz Wagner added 17, former FC Bayern Munich forward Isaac Bonga had 15 while Andreas Obst of Bayern got 14 for Germany. Yago dos Santos of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade led Brazil with 18 points. BKT EuroCup champion Vitor Benite added 17.
Obst struck twice from downtown and added a three-point play in a 2-13 run that gave Germany its first double-digit lead, 6-17. Bonga followed a triple with a layup to boost his team's lead to 10-22 after 10 minutes. Bruno Caboclo, dos Santos and Benite brought Brazil back to the game and Gui Santos's three-pointer complete his team's comeback, 31-30. Schroeder and Franz Wagner allowed Germany to tie it again, 40-40, at the break.
Schroeder and Franz Wagner kept pacing Germany after the break, restoring a 42-49 lead. Bonga dunked twice and Schroeder scored again to boost the German lead to 51-60 at the end of the third quarter. Germany kept excelling on defense early in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Bonga and Obst each hit one from beyond the arc to break the game open, 56-70, with 7 minutes remaining, as Germany kept full control of the game until the final buzzer.