France beats Team USA, and the Czech Republic grabs first Olympic victory
The 2020 Olympic Men’s Basketball Tournament tipped off in Tokyo on Sunday. France ended the first day with a big surprise as it knocked off United States in Group A, where the Czech Republic secured its first-ever win in Olympic action by defeating Iran. In Group B, Italy managed a big comeback victory over Germany, and Australia eased past Nigeria.
France vs. USA 83-76
France won two straight games against the USA, which was last done at a global level by Argentina at the World Cup in 2002 and the Olympics in 2004. Argentina did lose twice to the USA in the FIBA AmeriCup in 2003 but still has two global wins over the USA in their books.
Evan Fournier scored 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting, taking his aggression to a whole new level while not being afraid to take on the assignment of chasing Kevin Durant on defense, either. Jrue Holiday played out of his mind, with 18 points off the bench to lead the USA, but it wasn’t to be.
With Damian Lillard struggling against the strong set defense of France and Durant in foul trouble, the USA failed to find their leader in the closing minutes. And thus lost their first game at the Olympics in 25 years. They will play against the Czech Republic and Iran in the next two games; there’s still enough time to point the ship in the right direction.
Czech Republic vs. Iran 84-78
The Czech Republic made its Olympic debut, and star player Tomas Satoransky only shot 2-of-14 from the field, but he filled the rest of the statistical lines to finish with 6 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 steals. The Czech Republic was up by 22 on Iran, but they relaxed too soon and allowed the Asian team to crawl back to 84-78 by the game’s end.
Italy vs. Germany 92-82
Italy opened its Olympic campaign with a massively important 92-82 victory over Germany, closing the game on a 12-0 run and coming back from 12 points down. Simone Fontecchio paced five Italians in double figures with 20 points as he drained 5-of-5 three-pointers, including the triple to start the decisive run over the final 4:45 minutes. Danilo Gallinari and Stefano Tonut both had 18 points, and Italian captain Nicolo Melli added seven of his 13 points in the closing surge. Maodo Lo of ALBA Berlin came off the bench to pace Germany with 24 points but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Isaac Bonga had 13 points, while Andreas Obst and Moritz Wagner both had 12 points. Germany started on fire, hitting 8-of-13 three-pointers in the first quarter and leading 32-22 after 10 minutes. The margin was 12 points early in the second quarter, but Italy trimmed the gap to 46-43 at the half and never let Germany pull away by double digits in the third quarter. The Italians stayed close and then came up big in the end.
Australia vs. Nigeria 84-65
The second game in Group B saw Australia pick up a comfortable 84-65 victory over Nigeria. Patty Mills collected 25 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals for Australia, who began pulling away in the third quarter. Former EuroLeague champion Joe Ingles and Dante Exum both added 11 points, and Nic Kay had 12 points for the Australians. Obi Emegano paced Nigeria with 12 points.