Day 2 of the Paris 2024 Olympics
playdate for its basketball tournament saw teams having contrast
results in their pursuit of a quarter finals berth. Here’s how the
games went:
Spain 84, Greece 77
Spain shocked Greece and the
whole world with their huge win despite being huge underdogs. The
Spaniards stole the game despite the heroics of NBA and Greece
superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 27 points, 11 rebounds,
and 4 assists. Spain had a collective team effort led by Memphis
Grizzly Santi Aldama with 19 points while veteran duo Sergio Llull
and Rudy Fernandez gave Spain a boost off the bench, scoring 23
points amongst themselves. The win by Spain was crucial in Group A
as they now strengthen their claim to earn a quarterfinal
spot.
France 94, Japan 90
France narrowly escaped Japan,
94-90, following a huge scare throughout the second half. Riding on
the momentum brought by pint-sized point guard Yuki Kawamura, the
Japanese stormed to a second half lead over the hosts. Lakers
forward Rui Hachimura also played well for Japan, scoring 24
points, however was ejected on a controversial unsportsmanlike foul
call. Japan led by 4 with under a minute to go before Matthew
Strazel saved Les Bleus on a huge 4-point play (albeit being
controversial) to send the game into overtime. From then on, French
phenom Victor Wembanyama took over the game on both ends to save
France from embarrassment and lead them to the victory.
Germany 86, Brazil 73
Germany made quick work of
Brazil, never wasting time in defeating them. The reigning FIBA
World Cup champions led from start to finish and dominated the game
on both ends. Although Brazil took the lead briefly in the 2nd
quarter, that was as close as they could get as Germany displayed
the poise and consistency they have been playing for the past year
to take back the lead and never looked back again. 4 players scored
in double figures for the Germans in a team effort, led by Dennis
Schroder’s 20 followed by Franz Wagner’s 17.
Canada 93, Australia 83
Canada disposed of Australia
after trailing at halftime, taking over the game and in effect
taking the top spot in Group A, the group of death in this year’s
Olympic Games. Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was
ultra-efficient for the Canadians, scoring 16 points on 8/10
shooting while RJ Barrett led Canada in scoring with 24 points.
SGA’s former teammate Josh Giddey starred for the Boomers with 19
points but was not able to sustain the lead all game long as they
succumbed to Canada’s pesky perimeter defense in the second half.
Australia is now in danger of missing the quarterfinals all along
with Spain’s huge win over Greece.
Serbia 107, Puerto Rico 66
After suffering a blowout defeat
to tournament favorites USA the other day, Serbia vented its ire on
Puerto Rico and handed them a blowout of their own, 107-66. Serbia
took care of business from start to finish, never letting up for a
single moment. NBA MVP Nikola Jokic was splendid for the Serbians
after he posted a near triple-double statline of 14 points, 15
rebounds, and 9 assists. Serbia will now go into their match
against Puerto Rico with Group C’s second place at stake while
Puerto Rico drops out of the competition ahead of its game against
Team USA.
