Basketball groups finalized for Paris Olympics

Also in this week’s Olympic notebook, U.S. men’s soccer roster is set, daughter of Bruce Springsteen fails to qualify for Olympics

United States men's Olympic basketball coach Steve Kerr responds to a question from a reporter during training camp for the team Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus) (Steve Marcus, Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Men’s, women’s basketball schedule officially set

The final qualifying spots have been handed out and the field is set for both the men’s and women’s basketball competitions at the Paris Olympics.

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Both genders will have 12 teams that will be separated into three groups of four teams each. The teams will play three games against each other in pool play.

The top-2 finishers in each group and the two best third-place finishers will advance out of pool play and into the quarterfinal round.

It’s yet to be determined when a potential showdown between the U.S. men and host France would take place, but it likely won’t be until the semifinals or final.

Here are the groups for the men and women.

Men

  • Group A — Australia, Canada, Greece, Spain.
  • Group B — Brazil, France, Germany, Japan.
  • Group C — Latvia, Serbia, South Sudan, USA.

Women

  • Group A — China, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Spain.
  • Group B — Australia, Canada, France, Nigeria.
  • Group C — Belgium, Germany, Japan, USA.

The first game for the men’s team will be July 28 against Serbia. The women will open up play on July 29 against Japan.

3 overage players highlight Olympic men’s soccer team

The main U.S. Men’s National Team in soccer might have had a disappointing Copa America tournament, but the Olympic roster primarily consisting of players under 23 years old hope to have better success in Paris.

The roster was announced earlier this week, with three overage players with past experience on the USMNT highlighting the selections.

Each country is allowed three overage players to its roster of players who otherwise need to be 23 or younger. The overage players for the Americans are Miles Robinson, Walker Zimmerman and Djordje Mihailovic.

Of the younger players on the team, the biggest one to watch is 22-year-old Tanner Tessman, a midfielder who plays for Venezia FC in Italy.

Daughter of legendary singer fails to qualify for Olympics in equestrian

Jessica Springsteen, the daughter of rock star Bruce Springsteen, won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in equestrian.

Unfortunately for Springsteen, she won’t get the chance to earn another medal in Paris after she was not included on the jumping team.

Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut and McLain Ward were the three chosen for the U.S. squad.


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