Olympic Basketball 2016: Scores, Highlights and Reaction for Friday's Results

Men's and women's basketball group play featured several key matchups at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, as the all-important knockout round draws closer. 

Both the American men's and women's teams were set to take the court with an opportunity to solidify their spots atop their respective groups.

With the top four teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinals, Friday's games were significant in terms of seeding and staying alive for an opportunity to play for a medal.

Here is a full listing of results for Friday's action thus far, as well as a recap of every men's and women's clash.

Friday's Results

Division	Group	Winning Team	Losing Team	Score
Women's	B	Serbia	China	80-72
Men's	A	Australia	China	93-68
Women's	B	United States	Canada	81-51
Women's	B	Spain	Senegal	97-43
Men's	A	United States	Serbia	94-91
Men's	A	France	Venezuela	96-56

Women: Serbia 80, China 72

Serbia picked up a much-needed 80-72 victory over China on Friday to remain in contention for advancement to the knockout stage.

The Serbians improved to 1-3, while China fell to 1-3, which temporarily tied them for the fourth and final qualifying position in Group B.

Ana Dabovic led the way for Serbia with a game-high 23 points, which marked the best scoring performance for the Serbs in Rio thus far, according to OptaLarry:

Serbia also got 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists from Sonja Petrovic, while China was paced by Sun Mengran and her 16 points, as she was the only Chinese player to score in double figures.

While Serbia held a fairly comfortable 40-34 lead at halftime, its shooting from beyond the arc went cold in comparison to its admirable performance against Team USA, per Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press:

That didn't matter Friday, though, as the Serbians shot a solid 55 percent from inside the arc and beat China on the boards by a 38-33 margin.

Serbia proved against the United States it can be a dangerous team, as it kept that game close early before the Americans pulled away.

Because of that, it has a chance to turn some heads and potentially pull off an upset if it can make it out of group play.

Men: Australia 93, China 68

The Australian men's basketball team continued its impressive play Friday in Rio, as it easily defeated China 93-68 in a Group A clash.

The Aussies received production up and down the lineup with Cameron Bairstow scoring a team-high 17 points, Brock Motum adding 15, and Ryan Broekhoff, Aron Baynes and David Andersen all pitching in 12.

Perhaps the best player for Australia, though, was current Milwaukee Bucks and former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova. He scored just six points, but dished out eight assists and no turnovers as the team's top distributor.

According to Tim Wray of Bucks Down Under, Delly has played at a high level throughout the Olympics thus far:

The same can be said for Chinese forward Yi Jianlian, who led all scorers with 20 points. He didn't get much help from his teammates, though, as Guo Ailun was the only other player in double figures with 11 points.

Chip Williams of Grizzly Bear Blues is among those who have been impressed by Yi's performances in Rio thus far:

Yi was an NBA bust after getting selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2007 draft by the Bucks, but he is seemingly coming into his own.

That hasn't translated to wins for China, however, as it is now 0-4 and unlikely to make the knockout round.

Australia is in a good position, though, at 3-1, and it is trending toward taking the No. 2 spot in Group A, which means it wouldn't have to face the United States again until the gold-medal game.

After pushing Team USA to the brink in a 98-88 loss, that could be among the most competitive gold-medal games for the Americans in recent memory.

Women: United States 81, Canada 51

The United States women's basketball team overcame a slow start Friday in Rio de Janeiro to trounce Canada 81-51 and take firm control of Group B.

Team USA moved to a perfect 4-0 with the win, while Canada suffered its first loss and dropped to 3-1.

The Americans led just 18-16 after one quarter of play, but they outscored Canada 18-6 in the second quarter and never looked back.

As pointed out by Feinberg, Canada was in a malaise for nearly the entirety of the second frame on the offensive end:

The United States spread the production across its lineup, as Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore tied for the team lead with 12 points, and Tina Charles added 10. Also, while Sue Bird didn't record a point, the superstar guard dished out nine assists and turned the ball over just twice.

Defense was the biggest difference in the game with Team USA holding the Canadians to just 33 percent shooting from the floor, including 29 percent from long range.

Team USA will have a chance to close out a perfect record in group play against China Sunday, while Canada can secure second place in the group with a win over Spain.

Women: Spain 97, Senegal 43

The Spain women's basketball team kept its hopes of securing second place in Group B alive Friday, as it easily defeated Senegal 97-43 in Brazil.

Spain improved to 3-1, and it will face 3-1 Canada Sunday with the winner likely taking second in the group behind Team USA and avoiding another meeting with the top team in the tournament until the gold-medal match.

The Spaniards were in control from the start, but that didn't dampen the spirits of those who were there in support of Senegal, according to Teresa Walker of the Associated Press:

Spain led 46-19 at halftime and its advantage continued to grow thereafter thanks in large part to balanced scoring that saw six players reach double figures.

Astou Ndour led the way with 18 points to go along with 12 rebounds against her native country of Senegal.

The African side struggled mightily throughout, shooting just 26 percent from the field as opposed to Spain's 57 percent.

It did get a strong effort from Mame Marie Sy, though, as she scored a team-high 16 points and was the team's lone bright spot.

The loss all but assured Senegal will not advance to the knockout stage since its huge deficit in scoring differential will make it nearly impossible to earn a tiebreaker over Serbia or China.

Spain flexed its muscles once again Friday, however, and proved it is a threat to medal in women's basketball at the Olympics for the first time ever.

Men: United States 94, Serbia 91

The United States is supposed to be the dominant basketball force in these Olympics, but it struggled to pull away from Serbia on Friday and only won by three, 94-91. Bogdan Bogdanovic had a three-pointer to tie the game in the final seconds, but it rimmed out.

Despite the close margin of victory, the Americans established an early 18-point lead and had a 27-15 advantage through the first quarter. However, they let Serbia hang around, thanks largely to defensive collapses. Serbia shot 51.7 percent from the field and received impressive scoring efforts from multiple players.

Nikola Jokic led the way with 25 points, while Milos Teodosic and Miroslav Raduljica each scored 18 points.

As for the United States, Kyrie Irving spearheaded the offensive effort with 15 points, while DeAndre Jordan (13), Carmelo Anthony (12), Paul George (12) and Kevin Durant (12) chipped in on the offensive side as well.

The United States survived 12 turnovers and needed 33 made free throws to outlast Serbia. Next up is a showdown with Tony Parker and France on Sunday with a chance to close out group play with an undefeated effort.

The Americans haven’t overpowered their last two opponents (they beat Australia by 10 on Wednesday), but they are a perfect 4-0 in the early going.

Men: France 96, Venezuela 56

France gradually built a lead against Venezuela and then left zero doubt in the fourth quarter with a 30-9 outburst on the way to a 96-56 victory.

Six different players scored in double figures in the blowout win for the French, including Parker (14 points) and Boris Diaw (10 points). France also received a team-high 17 points off the bench from Joffrey Lauvergne, who shot 8-of-10 from the floor. France as a whole shot a blistering 61.2 percent from the field during the game.

France also enjoyed a 42-26 advantage on the boards and committed a mere five turnovers in the win.

As for Venezuela, it shot an abysmal 34.9 percent from the field and 17.4 percent from three-point range. Only Gregory Echenique (14 points) and Nestor Colmenares (10 points) scored in double figures as the team struggled to break free from the athletic French defense.

If France plays defense like it did Friday and finds a way to exploit the United States like Serbia did, it could hand the Americans their first loss of the Olympics.

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