Olympic Basketball 2016: Saturday Results, Scores, Highlights and Reaction
Men's and women's basketball group play continued Saturday at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and with the knockout stages on the horizon, multiple teams were fighting for their Olympic lives.
While neither favored American team was in action, several squads with legitimate medal hopes took to the court, and most of them did so with the goal of improving their seeding so as to avoid Team USA until the gold-medal game at the earliest.
With the quarterfinal picture beginning to come into focus, here is a full listing of results from Saturday, along with a recap of each game from Brazil.
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Saturday Scores
| Women's | A | Australia | Belarus | 74-66 |
| Men's | B | Argentina | Brazil | 111-107 |
| Women's | A | Turkey | Brazil | 79-76 |
| Women's | A | Japan | France | 79-71 |
| Men's | B | Spain | Lithuania | 109-59 |
| Men's | B | Nigeria | Croatia | 90-76 |
Women: Australia 74, Belarus 66
Australia was nearly the victim of the biggest upset in women's basketball at the 2016 Rio Olympics thus far Saturday, but they escaped a tough test from Belarus to finish group play undefeated at 5-0.
The Aussies trailed by three points at halftime and by seven entering the fourth quarter against a desperate Belarus team that needed a win in order to advance to the quarterfinals.
Australia outscored Belarus by a 22-7 margin in the final frame, though, to clinch the top spot in Group A and eliminate Belarus from the tournament.
Elizabeth Cambage was once again the star of the show, leading the team with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Her dominant performance led ABC Grandstand's David Lithgow to compare her to one of the greatest center's in NBA history:
Four players reached double figures in scoring for Belarus, but it utilized a short bench and got only nine points out of the other eight players on the roster.
Nine different players scored for Australia in comparison, and the Aussies' deep lineup served them well in the latter stages of the game.
Australia has medaled in women's basketball at five consecutive Olympic Games, and it put itself in great position to make it six in a row.
The Aussies won't have to face Team USA until the gold-medal game if they both make it that far, and while they will need better efforts from start to finish in the knockout stages, they have as good a chance as anyone to upset the Americans thanks to Cambage's form.
Men: Argentina 111, Brazil 107
In what was undoubtedly the most entertaining and dramatic basketball game of the 2016 Summer Olympics thus far, Argentina outlasted host Brazil 111-107 in double overtime.
With the victory, the Argentinians ensured that they will play in the quarterfinals, while Brazil was pushed to the brink of elimination.
Argentina was led by former NBA player Andres Nocioni, who tied the national team Olympic record for most points in a game with 37 by virtue of nailing eight of his 12 three-point attempts.
Among those trifectas was a make that touched seemingly every part of the rim and backboard to tie the game with just seconds remaining in regulation and force overtime.
As pointed out by HBO's Bill Simmons, Nocioni offered a taste of what he could have potentially been in the NBA had he found the proper fit:
In OT, it was Facundo Campazzo who did most of the damage for Argentina, as he ended up with 33 points and made five of his 10 attempts from downtown.
Argentina jumped out to an eight-point lead early in the second overtime, but Brazil managed to tie it up thanks to Leandro Barbosa, who scored all of his 11 points in the sixth frame.
With the South American rivals trading baskets and the lead, HBO's Tommy Alter made mention of the incredible atmosphere in Rio de Janeiro:
"Argentina/Brazil feels like a Duke/Carolina tournament game if they only played once every 4 years and each school had 40 million students.
— Tommy Alter (@MrTalter) August 13, 2016"
In the end, it was an old standby who sealed the deal for Argentina, as San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginobili made two free throws with just a couple seconds remaining to ice the game.
ESPN's Zach Lowe had the following analysis regarding the wild and chaotic contest:
Argentina entered the Olympics with some major question marks after failing to medal at the 2012 London Games. The core of its team is in its mid-30's, but the likes of Nocioni, Ginobili and Luis Scola turned back the clock Saturday.
Now that Argentina's spot in the quarterfinals is assured, it has all the makings of a legitimate medal threat, especially if it continues its red-hot shooting from long range.
Women: Turkey 79, Brazil 76
Shortly after the Brazilian men went to double overtime, the Brazilian women matched that feat Saturday, but they suffered the same fate in a 79-76 loss to Turkey.
Both teams started off slowly with Brazil leading 15-8 after one quarter of play, but the Brazilians picked up steam in the second and entered the locker room with a 36-20 advantage.
Turkey cut the deficit to just six entering the fourth, and regulation ended with the teams tied at 60-60 due to neither side being able to hold significant leads, according to Teresa Walker of the Associated Press:
The teams remained evenly matched throughout the first overtime, but Turkey proved too difficult to overcome in the latter stages, as Lara Sanders put the game away by making two free throws with 15 seconds remaining.
Sanders continued to be Turkey's biggest star in Rio, as she led the team with 23 points, while adding 10 rebounds and dour blocks as part of another dominant showing.
Brazil had four players reach double figures, including Iziane Castro and her 22 points, but it received just nine points from the rest of the team.
With the loss, Brazil dropped to 0-5, while Turkey improved to 3-2.
Brazil had already been eliminated from contention prior to the game, which made its performance even more impressive. It had nothing to play for other than pride in front of its home crowd, while Turkey needed a win in order to give itself a chance to secure something better than the fourth seed in the quarterfinals.
Turkey was able to do precisely that, but Brazil's performance was admirable despite failing to win a game in Rio.
Women: Japan 79, France 71
Japan scored arguably its biggest win in women's basketball ever at the Olympics Saturday, as it knocked off reigning silver medalist France to end group play.
By virtue of the 79-71 win, it created a three way tie behind undefeated Australia in Group A with Japan, France and Turkey all sitting at 3-2.
Despite the victory, Japan drew the short straw, according to FIBA.com, as it will face the winner of Group B in the quarterfinals, which will almost certainly be the United States.
The loss still damaged France's medal hopes, though, since it is in the same half of the draw as Team USA, which means they will meet in the semifinals should they both win in the quarters.
While Japan has a tall task ahead, it figures to enter the quarters with confidence on its side, especially after Saturday's performance by Asami Yoshida, who led all scorers with 24 points and also added seven assists and four steals.
Japan also showed great discipline in hitting all 15 of its free-throw attempts, which will be key in a showdown against the Americans.
Men: Spain 109, Lithuania 59
Spain started Group B play in inauspicious fashion with two consecutive losses, but it rebounded in resounding fashion with a 109-59 win over Lithuania to shoot up the standings and move closer to qualification for the quarterfinals.
San Antonio Spurs center Pau Gasol was simply phenomenal in the blowout, and he finished with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists. Spain was also a remarkable plus-26 in Gasol's 23 minutes on the floor.
Perhaps more impressive, though, is that Gasol shot 7-of-9 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from three.
Elsewhere, Chicago Bulls swingman Nikola Mirotic poured in 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including a perfect 7-of-7 on all shots inside the arc. Rudy Fernandez added 13 points, while Ricky Rubio posted 11 points and four dimes in the win.
Lithuania actually shot a respectable 49 percent on two-point shots in the loss, but it was thrashed from beyond the arc and on the glass. Specifically, Spain drilled 16 threes compared to the Lithuanian's six and out-rebounded the competition 41-25.
Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas was held scoreless in the loss as he shot 0-of-6 from the field and hauled in 10 rebounds. Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Domantas Sabonis chipped in five points and five boards as Lithuania held steady in second place in Group B.
Spain, on the other hand, moved up to third place and is in position to move on with play set to wrap up on Monday.
Men: Nigeria 90, Croatia 76
Group B play took another strange turn late Saturday evening when Nigeria cruised past Croatia by 14 points to capture its first victory of the Olympics.
Croatia owned a seven-point lead after the first quarter, but Nigeria started to blow past their European competition in the second frame when they posted a 22-11 scoring advantage. That trend continued in the third quarter when Nigeria outscored the Croatians by 10, and that cushion was enough to secure a victory.
Michael Umeh led the way with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Al-Farouq Aminu dropped 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds to help pace the Nigerians.
Josh Akognon added 18 points and did so on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three.
Croatia, meanwhile, received a monstrous 28-point effort Bojan Bogdanovic (8-of-15 shooting, 3-of-6 from three). Philadelphia 76ers swingman Dario Saric tallied seven points and six rebounds to go with two steals and a block, but he attempted just five shots total and made a grand total of two.
Bouncy Orlando Magic perimeter stud Mario Hezonja was similarly limited as he notched five points (2-of-8 shooting) and three assists.
Croatia will draw Lithuania in the final game of Group B play, while Nigeria is slated to square off against Brazil in the first game on Monday.
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