Olympics women’s basketball results: August 13th

2016 Rio Olympics women’s basketball results from Day 8 on Saturday, August 13 and the last three games out of Group A

After furious action over the first eight days of the 2016 Rio Olympics women’s basketball competition, Group A closed out their preliminary round slate on Saturday. Several tickets to the knockout rounds were already punched. But other spots and seeds still needed to be decided. That certainly created a hefty amount of intrigue for the three games on Day 8. The only thing left to happen was for the games to be played.

Australia started out the women’s hoops slate on Saturday with a matchup against Belarus. The Aussies entered Day 8 of Rio 2016 undefeated and often looking dominant. However, they weren’t quite as dominant against a feisty Belarus team. Still, Australia secured an eight-point victory to remain undefeated and atop Group A.

Turkey and Brazil then took the floor next on Saturday afternoon with Brazil already eliminated essentially and the former looking for a better seed. This was arguably the best matchup of the day as Brazil jumped out to an early lead. Turkey fought back in a big way, though, to force overtime and then force a second. In that second overtime, Turkey completed their comeback to pick up a 79-76 victory.

Finishing off the day in women’s basketball was Japan and France. France already punched their ticket through, but Japan needed a win to assure a spot in the next rounds. In a spirited effort, the Japanese women indeed scrapped to pick up the win and earn a place in the knockout rounds.

Therefore, Australia, France, Turkey, and Japan advance out of Group A, in that order. While the Aussies look like the silver medal favorites still, everything changes from here on out for these four teams. It’s simple now: win or go home.