Team USA dominates in 5×5, but struggles in 3×3 as the Olympics roll on
Day 4 of Olympic Basketball brought a mixed bag for the United States. The Men’s 5×5 team took another step toward a fifth-consecutive gold medal, while both 3×3 teams fell to the bottom of the standings and now face an uphill battle to make the knockout phase. The Women’s 5×5 squad will take on the Belgian Cats today in a matchup of top international programs.
5×5 Men’s scores on July 31st
- Group C: USA 103—South Sudan 86
Steve Kerr responded to the national fervor over Jayson Tatum’s lack of playing time by benching Joel Embiid in favor of Tatum. Despite Tatum bricking his first three off of the side of the backboard, the move seemingly paid off as Team USA smothered South Sudan’s long scorers. Kerr’s squad clearly defended and rebounded much more intensely than in the last meeting between the teams. They built a 15-point lead by the end of the first half in large part thanks to Bam Adebayo. He put up 14 of his team-leading 18 points before the break including two three-pointers. South Sudan did not give up at any point. They fought to stay within striking distance and pulled close enough to force Kerr to call a timeout. Nuni Omot led South Sudan with 24 points while Carrick Jones put up 18 points. The US, along with Canada, Germany, and France, locked up a place in the quarterfinals.
- Group C: Serbia 107—Puerto Rico 66 (Jokic: 14 pts/9 ast/15 reb)
Puerto Rico has been eliminated from contention.
5×5 Women’s scores on July 31st
- Group A: Spain 63—Puerto Rico 62
Spain survived a crazy ending to win a second-straight game by two points or fewer. Laura Gil hit two free throws with one second left after a controversial foul call. Former Mystic Megan Gustafson posted a 18-point, 13-rebound performance as she continues to dominate the Olympics for Spain.
- Group A: Serbia 81—China 59 (Li Meng 10 pts)
3×3 Women’s scores on July 31
- Australia 21—Germany 19
- Canada 21—China 12
- Spain 17—France 12
- Azerbaijan 20—United States 17
Five current or former WNBA players competed in this one: Tiffany Hayes for Azerbaijan and Cierra Burdick, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard for Team USA. Hayes scored 11 of AZB’s 18 points including the game-winning layup with 1.2 seconds left. Team USA is now 0-2 in Paris after winning 3×3 in Tokyo.
3×3 Men’s scores on July 31
- Latvia 21—Netherlands 12
- China 21—Serbia 15
- France 21—Lithuania 20
- United States vs. Poland, 4:35 p.m.
August 1st Schedule
The Men’s 5×5 teams take the day off and give way to a great slate of women’s and 3×3 games. Belgium looks to knock off the monolith that is USA Women’s basketball. Albert Lee previewed the game and gave his thoughts on the Cats’ chances at the upset. Belgium has been one of the best international programs in recent years and gave the USA a run for their money in February. Group B features two great matchups with Nigeria looking for a second historic win over hosts France and Australia and Canada trying to stay alive.
Women’s 5×5
- Group C: Japan vs Germany, 5 a.m.
- Group B: Australia vs Canada, 7 a.m.
- Group B: France vs Nigeria, 11:15 a.m
- Group C: Belgium vs USA, 3 p.m.
Men’s 5×5
No games today
3×3
- Women (W)-China vs Australia 3 am
- W-Germany vs Canada 3:30 am
- Men (M)-Netherlands vs Serbia 4:05 am
- M-China vs Latvia 4:35 am
- W-Azerbaijan vs France 6:30 am
- W-United States vs Australia 7:00 am
- M-Lithuania vs Poland 7:35 am
- M-Netherlands vs France 8:05 am
- W-China vs Spain 12 pm
- W-Germany vs Azerbaijan 12:30 pm
- M-United States vs Lithuania 1:05 pm
- M-China vs Poland 1:35 pm