RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Olympics) April 30, 2012:- The draw for the Olympic Basketball Tournaments for Men and Women at this summer’s London Games was held on Monday.
The qualified teams for both the Men and Women’s tournaments were divided into two groups of six teams each. The two Olympic Basketball Tournaments will then see teams play the five other teams in their respective groups during the Preliminary Round. The top four classified teams from each group will then move on to the Quarter-Finals of a standard knock-out tournament.
The Olympic Basketball Tournaments will take place from 28 July until 12 August at the Olympic Basketball Arena and the North Greenwich Arena.
The results of the draw are:
Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament
Group A: Argentina, France, Tunisia, USA, OQT 1, OQT 2
Group B: Australia, Brazil, China, Great Britain, Spain, OQT 3
So far nine men’s national teams (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Great Britain, Spain, Tunisia and USA) have already qualified.
The last three teams will qualify via the 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) for Men taking place in Caracas, Venezuela, 2-8 June. The OQT (Men) teams are: Angola, Dominican Republic, FYROM, Greece, Jordan, Korea, Lithuania, New Zealand, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Russia and hosts Venezuela.
Women’s Olympic Basketball Tournament
Group A: Angola, China, USA, OQT 1, OQT 2, OQT 4
Group B: Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Russia, OQT 3, OQT 5
To date, seven women’s national teams (Angola, Australia, Brazil, China, Great Britain, Russia and USA) have already qualified. The last five teams will secure their places via the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) for Women in Ankara, Turkey.
The OQT (Women) teams are:
Argentina, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Korea, Mali, Mozambique, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and hosts Turkey.
Following the draw, FIBA Secretary General and IOC Member Patrick Baumann said: “For every major Championship, the draw is a major milestone. Players begin picturing themselves on the court and thinking about match-ups. Fans start imagining the atmosphere…
“The 2008 Men’s Final between the USA and Spain was one of the greatest Olympic moments. It showed the huge strides international basketball had made in becoming more and more competitive. I expect this year’s Olympic Basketball Tournaments will be a great and memorable spectacle for all.”
For more information about the Olympic Basketball Tournaments, find the draw press kit attached or visit: http://london2012.fiba.com.
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