The men's
basketball tournament at the
2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, began on 10 August and ended on 24 August, when the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
defeated
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
118–107 for the gold medal. All games were held at the
Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.
Qualification
Format
* Twelve teams are split into 2 preliminary round groups of 6 teams each. The top 4 teams from each group qualify for the knockout stage.
* Fifth-placed teams from each group are ranked 9th–10th by basis of their records.
* Sixth-placed teams from each group are ranked 11th–12th by basis of their records.
* In the quarterfinals, the matchups are as follows: A1 vs. B4, A2 vs. B3, A3 vs. B2 and A4 vs. B1.
**The eliminated teams at the quarterfinals are ranked 5th–8th by basis of their preliminary round records
* The winning teams from the quarterfinals meet in the semifinals as follows: A1/B4 vs. A3/B2 and A2/B3 vs. A4/B1.
* The winning teams from the semifinals play for the gold medal. The losing teams play for the bronze.
Ties are broken via the following the criteria, with the first option used first, all the way down to the last option:
# Head to head results
#
Goal average
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
(not the goal difference) between the tied teams
# Goal average of the tied teams for all teams in its group
All times are local
Beijing Time (UTC+8).
Squads
Preliminary round
All times are China Standard Time
The time in China follows a single standard time offset of UTC+08:00 (eight hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time), even though the country spans almost five geographical time zones. The official national standard time is called ''Beijing T ...
(UTC+8
UTC+08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +08:00.
With an estimated population of 1.708 billion living within the time zone, roughly 24% of the world population, it is the most populous time zone in the world, as well as a ...
)
Group A
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Group B
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Knockout round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Bronze medal match
Gold medal match
The Americans got off to a start with the Spaniards hitting seven of their first nine shots; if not for a 10–0 run by
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...
and Dwyane Wade, the Americans would have trailed in the first quarter. With USA leading by 14, Spain chipped away at the lead during the second quarter to cut the deficit to eight points.
The team traded baskets in the third quarter, with Spain cutting the deficit further to seven. A three-point field goal by Rudy Fernández (basketball), Rudy Fernández cut the lead into two, the smallest deficit with 8:13 left in the fourth. Kobe Bryant and Wade extended the lead with three-pointers to 103–92 but Spain had a final push, capped with another three-pointer from Carlos Jiménez to reduce the lead 108–104. In the final 2 minutes a three-pointer by Dwyane Wade and a Kobe Bryant field goal extended the lead back to 9. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball games ever played.
Awards
Statistical leaders
Top ten in points, rebounds and assists, and top 5 in steals and blocks.
Points
Rebounds
Assists
Steals
Blocks
Game highs
Final standings
Rankings are determined by:
*1st–4th
**Results of gold and bronze medal games.
*5th–8th:
**Win–loss record in the preliminary round group
**Standings in the preliminary round group (i.e. Group A's #3 is ranked higher than Group B's #4.)
**Goal average in the preliminary round group
*9th–10th and 11th–12th:
**5th placers in the preliminary round groups are classified 9th–10th; 6th placers classified *11th–12th
**Win–loss record in the preliminary round group
**Goal average in the preliminary round group
See also
* Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament, Women's Tournament
References
External links
Men's tournament official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Men's tournament
Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament,
Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Basketball at the Summer Olympics – Men's tournament