Olympics men’s basketball results: August 13th
The Olympics men’s basketball results from Day 8 of Rio 2016 and the action out of Group B in the preliminary round
Just when you think that you have everything figured out in the Olympics men’s basketball competition, something like Day 8 from Rio 2016 happens. The three games on the docket for Saturday, August 13 gave fans everything they could want. One resulted in a double-overtime thriller, another a blowout, and lastly a major upset. Believing the results might be hard, but give it a try nonetheless from Day 8.
The day started off in men’s hoops with a South American rivalry adding another chapter. Brazil and Argentina squared off in what was an instant classic. Argentina jumped out to a big led, but then squandered it. Brazil then lost their own lead as their opponents forced overtime. They played even through the first extra period, thus forcing double-overtime. Finally, Argentina pulled ahead to pick up the huge win and all but eliminate Brazil from the knockout rounds.
Following up that instant classic was a matchup that was, well, less than classic. Fans were buzzing at the start of the day about Spain vs Lithuania, but that hype quickly dissipated. Spain looked like the dominant force they’re capable of being. Meanwhile, Lithuania looked like the worst version on themselves. That recipe cooked up a massive 50-point blowout victory for the Spanish squad.
Ending the night was a matchup that many thought would be a blowout with Croatia taking on Nigeria. Croatia showed tremendous promise in their first three games as a dangerous young team. Contrarily, Nigeria entered Saturday winless in their first three outings. However, past results matter not in the Olympics and Nigeria took it to the Croatian squad. No longer winless, Nigeria pulled away for a 14-point win to stay alive.
In Group B after Day 8, Argentina occupies first place with Lithuania still in second, Spain and Croatia come in at third and fourth, respectively, to fill out the advancing seeds. Brazil and Nigeria, though, trail fourth place by just one point. Entering the final two days of Olympics men’s basketball, anything could happen. Get excited.