MANILA – The draws for the men's and women's basketball competitions in the forthcoming Paris Olympics were held at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).
According to the FIBA press release, American Carmelo and Australian Penny Taylor participated in the draws shown on FIBA's YouTube channel.
The United States, the reigning men’s champion, has been drawn into Group C with Serbia, South Sudan, and a team from an Olympic qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico.
Group B features 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medal winner France, Germany, Japan, and a team from the Olympic qualifying tournament in Latvia.
Australia and Canada are in Group A alongside two teams still to be determined.
The US women's team, eyeing an eighth straight gold medal, will play Germany, Belgium, and Japan, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, in Group C.
Serbia, Spain, China, and Puerto Rico are in Group A while Canada, Nigeria, Australia, and France are in Group B.
The top two teams from each group along with the two highest-ranked third-place teams after the round-robin preliminary round will advance to the quarterfinals.
FIBA President Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani of Qatar and Secretary General Andreas Zagklis of Greece, and representatives from participating National Federations attended the ceremony.
The Group Phase will take place at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, with the Final Phase to be held at the Bercy Arena in Paris.
The men's event will be from July 27 to Aug. 10 and the women's event from July 28 to Aug. 11. (PNA)
