Groups drawn for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Basketball Tournaments
The FIBA Olympic basketball draw has thrown up some intriguing ties as the men's and women's groups for Tokyo 2020 were decided.
Basketball
The groups for the Tokyo 2020 men's and women's Olympic Basketball Tournaments have been decided during today's official draw at FIBA's headquarters in Mies, Switzerland.
In the women's tournament, all 12 teams have already booked their spots at Toko 2020 through last year's FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. Group B sees Rio 2016 gold medallists the USA drawn against Nigeria, France and host nation Japan, while Spain - silver medallists four years ago - are set to take on Republic of Korea, Serbia and Canada in Group A. The final Group sees Australia pitted against Puerto Rico, People's Republic of China and Belgium.
The women's preliminary round will take place on Mon 26 July in the Saitama Super Arena.
In the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament, only eight of the twelve teams have already qualified, with the rest of the teams to be decided during Olympic Qualifying Tournaments that will take place between 29 June to 4 July 4 2021.
Of the teams already qualified, favourites USA will line up against France, the Rio 2016 quarter-finalists, and Iran - who are making only their third appearance in the tournament. The final team in the group will be decided at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Victoria, Canada.
Group B sees Australia face up against Nigeria, with the other two teams yet to be decided, while Group C will see world champions Spain facing Argentina in a re-run of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup final, with the third confirmed place going to host nation Japan.
The men's preliminary round will take place on Sun 25 July in the Saitama Super Arena.
A new competition format will be in place for the Tokyo 2020 Games, with the teams that finish first and second in the groups joining the two best third-place teams in advancing to the knockout stages.
Andreas Zagklis, the FIBA Secretary General, had this to say after the draw: "We are looking forward to enjoying the world's best basketball players performing this coming July in the capital of Japan. FIBA is confident for the smooth delivery of the Olympic Basketball Tournaments based on the close partnership with the IOC and the TOCOG as well as on its own, proven operational capacity during the last seven months."
Legendary USA men's coach, Gregg Popovich was also looking forward to the Games, saying: “It’s exciting to learn more about the Olympic schedule and who our preliminary round opponents will be in Tokyo. The three Olympic preliminary groups appear well balanced, and there are a good number of teams who have legitimate shots at the gold medal in Tokyo.
The final of the men's tournament will take place on 7 August 2021, while the women's tournament comes to its conclusion a day later on 8 August.