By Angelica Medina
LILLE (Reuters) – Reigning Olympic champions the United States will face Brazil in the quarter-finals of the Olympic men’s basketball tournament after beating Puerto Rico 104-83 in Lille on Saturday to seal top spot in Group C with three wins out of three.
Hosts France will face Canada in the last eight, while Serbia take on Australia and Germany meet Greece.
Puerto Rico took a surprise first-quarter lead over the mighty U.S., but the Americans rallied quickly to regain control of the contest, with Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards leading the way with 26 points.
Joel Embiid added 15 points, with Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Anthony Davis also reaching double figures.
Debutants South Sudan were knocked out after losing 96-85 to Serbia in the final round of group matches, despite Marial Shakoy and Carlik Jones scoring a combined 34 points for the African team.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a game-leading 30 points for Serbia, with Nikola Jokic adding 22 points and 13 rebounds.
“My boys put their hearts and soul in the game. What a travesty. That’s all I have to say,” said South Sudan coach Royal Ivey.
On the women’s side, Spain secured top spot in Group A after a 70-62 win over Serbia, helped by the return from injury of Maria Conde, who scored 15 points.
Serbia are also into the quarter-finals after finishing as group runners-up, while China claimed their first win of the tournament and third place in the group with an 80-58 victory over eliminated Puerto Rico.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Lille; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
Comments