RIO DE JANEIRO — The United States and Spain finally lived up to expectations, posting blowout wins Wednesday to reach the semifinals of the Olympic men’s basketball tournament as France and Argentina lost much more than a game.
While the United States and Spain have struggled to reach their full potential at times on the Rio hardwood, Australia and Serbia have delivered much more than expected in also reaching the last four.
Even though the United States was the only team to finish group play without a loss, questions about its ability to claim a third straight gold swirled after three unimpressive narrow wins to close out the preliminary round.
Those questions were answered in the form of a 105-78 rout against Argentina as the US extended its Olympic winning streak to 23 games.
Second-ranked Spain made a poor start to the tournament with losses to Brazil and Croatia before shifting into top gear with four straight wins, including a 92-67 victory over old foes France Wednesday to ease into the last four.
Basketball fans can now savor the prospect of a mouth-watering semifinal between the US and Spain that could double as an NBA All-Star game as both teams are stacked with NBA champions, All-Stars and most valuable players.
Ranked 11th, Australia may be an underdog but it has been one of the top teams in Rio and punched above its weight Wednesday with a 90-64 upset win over third-ranked Lithuania to close in on what would be a first ever Olympic basketball medal.
The next step for the close-knit Boomers is a semifinal meeting with Serbia, which came out on top after a hard-fought Balkan derby as they held off Croatia 86-83.
As France and Argentina made their quarterfinal exits, they not only said goodbye to Rio but also bade farewell to standout players who put their respective countries on the basketball map.
Tony Parker, 34, confirmed after the loss that he had played his final game for France.
Just a few hours later, his 39-year-old San Antonio Spurs team mate Manu Ginobili followed suit by calling an end to his international career with Argentina.
