Monday will be the final Preliminary game for participating teams in the 2012 London Olympics male basketball event, as only eight teams will advance to the Quarterfinals, while four will be eliminated from play.
Thus far, all six of the San Antonio Spurs players participating in the 2012 games have secured a position in the quarterfinals with their respective teams. Monday’s games will be important in determining where they will be seeded for the next round. Keep in mind, after Monday’s final preliminary games, the rest of the way is single elimination.
Here are the current standings, keep in mind the top four teams in both Groups A and B will advance. Points have been awarded all week for each team participating in play. (2 points get added for wins, while 1 point is added for losses.)
Group A
- United States 4-0 (8 points)
- Argentina 3-1 (7 points)
- France 3-1 (7 points)
- Lithuania 1-3 (5 points)
- Nigeria 1-3 (5 points)
- Tunisia 0-4 (4 points)
Group B
- Russia 4-0 (8 points)
- Brazil 3-1 (7 points)
- Spain 3-1 (7 points)
- Australia 2-2 (6 points)
- Great Britain 0-4 (4 points)
- China 0-4 (4 points)
Here’s a quick look at Monday’s games based on schedule, current rank in group pools, and what will happen if a Spurs affiliated players team wins or loses on Monday.
3:00 AM CST: Australia vs. Russia
Patty Mills and the Aussies are ranked 4th in Group B, and regardless of a win or a loss; they are locked into tha 4th position as they have compiled 6 points through four games.
Assuming the United States stays undefeated, Mills and Australia will be the first team to face the U.S. in the quarterfinals.
8:30 AM CST: France vs. Nigeria
Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, Nando De Colo, and France are ranked 3rd in Group A with 7 accumulated points. There are some win/loss scenarios involving France who are tied with Argentina at the moment.
France wins, Argentina wins: If France defeats Nigeria and Argentina pulls off a huge upset in defeating the U.S. on Monday, then the U.S. would still secure the first seed as all three teams would be tied with 9 points, but the U.S. would have the edge with point differential. France would get the second seed, while Argentina would claim the third, because Les Bleus holds the tiebreaker over Argentina.
France wins or loses, U.S.A. wins: If France wins or loses to Nigeria, then France will finish with 8 points. If the U.S. wins, then France would lock up the second seed and Argentina would fall to the third seed regardless because they too would have 8 points, but France holds the tiebreaker as mentioned above.
2:00 PM CST: Brazil (3-1) vs. Spain (3-1)
Tiago Splitter and Brazil are ranked second in Group B with 7 points. Their match against Spain will be the battle for second place, as Spain has also tallied 7 points. Russia will have secured the first seed regardless if they win or lose to Australia.
4:15 PM CST: Argentina (3-1) vs. United States (4-0)
Argentina is currently ranked second in Group A with 7 points. The scenarios involving Argentina have already been discussed in the French section.
After Monday, you must think of the tournament the rest of the way like the Elite-8 in College basketball. Only eight teams remain and you only get one chance. The Olympic Elite-8 will kick off on Wednesday, we’ll know the seeding once all games have been played on Monday.
