USA Olympic basketball game times announced for Rio 2016
By Jason Parker
Game times were announced Thursday for the USA men’s and women’s Olympic basketball teams as the prepare for the Rio Games.
In just over two months, thousands of the top athletes from across the world will descend on Brazil for the 2016 Olympic Games. While concern has grown over issues surround the Zika virus and how it will affect the games, everything is going as scheduled as the world will turn its attention to Rio for two weeks this summer.
One of the main attractions will be the basketball competition, as the USA men’s team goes for gold in their third straight games. Thursday, the schedule was revealed for their preliminary games, with two opponents still to be determined:
Saturday, Aug. 6 vs. China – 6 p.m. ET
Monday, Aug. 8 vs. Venezuela – 6 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Aug. 10 vs. Australia – 6 p.m. ET
Friday, Aug. 12 vs. qualifier – 6 p.m. ET
Monday, Aug. 15 vs. qualifier – 1:15 p.m. ET
The last two opponents will be decided via tournaments in the coming weeks. Potential opponents for the US team could include Canada, France or the Philippines.
As for the women’s team, their schedule was also released with several opponents still to be decided:
Sunday, Aug. 7 vs. Senegal – 11 a.m. ET
Monday, Aug. 8 vs. qualifier – 11 a.m. ET
Wednesday, Aug. 10 vs. Serbia – 2:30 p.m. ET
Friday, Aug. 12 vs. Canada – 2:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, Aug. 14 vs. qualifier – 11:15 a.m. ET
There will be very little time to rest for either team if they advanced to the next stage, which will conclude with the gold medal game on Aug. 21st:
Tuesday, Aug. 16 — Women’s quarterfinals all day
Wednesday, Aug. 17 — Men’s quarterfinals all day
Thursday, Aug. 18 — Women’s semifinals (2 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. ET)
Friday, Aug. 19 — Men’s semifinals (2:30 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. ET)
Saturday, Aug. 20 — Women’s bronze-, gold-medal games (10:30 a.m. ET, 2:30 p.m. ET)
Sunday, Aug. 21 — Men’s bronze-, gold-medal games (10:30 a.m. ET, 2:45 p.m. ET)
After deciding who will make the 12 man team for the Olympics, the US team will play five games across the United States leading up to the games, featuring games against China, Argentina, Nigeria and Venezuela.
For more Rio Olympics news, check out our Olympics hub page.