With group play in the books, we now know the quarterfinal matchups in the 2016 Olympic basketball tournament when knockout play begins on Wednesday, Aug 17. Group A finished in orderly fashion, while Group B finished in a four-way tie that ultimately went to Croatia on account of tiebreakers. Host nation Brazil finished 2-3 and did not qualify for the knockout round.
Olympic basketball 2016 quarterfinal matchups set, Team USA to face Argentina
The matchups for elimination play have been finalized, and Team USA will face a familiar old foe in the quarterfinals.
Harrison Faigen has been covering the NBA (primarily the Lakers) since 2013, and is currently the Associate Director of Pro Basketball coverage for SB Nation.
Group A’s top seed, the undefeated United States, will face Argentina in the first game of the quarterfinals, with second-seeded Australia getting a showdown with the Lithuanians. Croatia locked in a matchup with regional rival Serbia by virtue of grabbing the top spot in Group B, while Spain will take on France in the marquee matchup of the quarterfinals. Venezuela, China, Brazil and Nigeria have been eliminated. All four quarterfinals will take place on Wednesday.
The four winners of games on Wednesday will play on Friday, Aug. 19, with the bronze and gold medal games set for Sunday, Aug. 21. The bronze medal game will be played at 10:30 a.m. ET, and the gold medal game at 2:45 ET.
Here are the matchups and times
All times Eastern.
United States vs. Argentina (5:45 p.m.): Manu Ginobili and Argentina’s golden generation get one more shot at the United States, whom they memorably knocked off in Athens to help earn their nickname.
Spain vs. France (1:30 p.m.): Pau Gasol leads the Spanish against his new Spurs teammate Tony Parker and the French. Spain is the higher seed, but with Rudy Gobert to throw at Gasol, France could definitely make things interesting. This is probably a matchup both sides wish happened later in the tournament, as they entered as the favorites for the silver medal. One will go home empty-handed, while the other must beat Team USA to reach their goal.
Croatia vs. Serbia (9:15 p.m.): Dario Saric and Bojan Bogdanovic exploded to earn Croatia the top seed on the final day of group play. Will Croatia be able to continue their hot shooting in the elimination round against Milos Teodosic, Nikola Jokic and Serbia?
Australia vs. Lithuania (10 a.m.): Lithuania started out their time in Rio on a three-game win streak, but losing their last two games left them with the unenviable position of taking on an Australian team that’s looked solid throughout the tournament.
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