Tokyo Olympics: USA men’s basketball team face tough task as quarter-finals kick off
- The American team are still the favourites to win gold but face real competition from some emerging basketball nations
- France, who beat the USA in the group stage, look primed to make the final while Australia and Spain will also provide a stern test
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The USA will be relying on NBA prowess and experience as the quarter-finals start on Tuesday at the Saitama Super Arena, with the gold-medal match set on Saturday.
The last time the Americans didn’t win gold was in Athens in 2004, but a challenging road awaits them, starting in their quarter-final match-up against Spain at 12:40pm (HKT).
France look to continue their fiery start at the Olympics after opening with a 83-76 upset over the heavily favoured USA and closing with a decisive 79-62 victory against Iran on Sunday to go 3-0 in their preliminary group stage. After topping the Group A standings, they are now set to play Italy at 4:20pm on Tuesday.
The French are led by Utah Jazz centre and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and Boston Celtics guard Evan Fournier, who lead the team in rebounds and points per game respectively. Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum and New York Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina also headline the NBA-studded roster for France.
