Basketball at the 2012 Summer Olympics was the eighteenth appearance of the sport of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

as an official Olympic medal event. It was held from 28 July to 12 August 2012. The preliminary matches and the women's quarterfinal matches were played in the new Basketball Arena in Olympic Park, which seated up to 12,000 spectators. The men's knockout games and the women's games, from semifinals onward were played in the North Greenwich Arena. The US men's and US women's teams both successfully defended their Olympic basketball championships of 2008.

Settings

Two settings in London were used for the basketball tournaments:

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...

(referred to as the "North Greenwich Arena" during the Olympics) and the Basketball Arena in Olympic Park at Stratford. The North Greenwich Arena was the setting for the knockout stages for the men, and also from the semifinal games onward for the women, whereas the Basketball Arena was the setting for the preliminary rounds and the women's quarterfinals.

Qualification

2012 Summer Olympics basketball competing countries

The National Olympic Committees may enter up to one 12-player men's team and up to one 12-player women's team.

Host

Initially, basketball was the only team sport in which the host country was not automatically awarded a team in the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. This was because the British basketball teams did not exist until 2006, and hence

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

, the world's regulatory body of basketball, was concerned about the future of the British national basketball teams after 2012, as well as the probable lack of competitiveness of the British teams. However, in a meeting held in Lyon, France, on 13 March 2011, the FIBA's executive board agreed to allow the two British teams to enter automatically after all.

Men's qualification

Women's qualification

Competition format

Twelve qualified nations were drawn into two groups, each consisting of six teams. Each game result merits a corresponding point: *The team has less than two players available to play on the court.
**A team cannot present five players at the start of the game, or its actions prevent play from being resumed. In case teams are tied on points, the tiebreaking criteria are, in order of first application: #Results of the games involving the tied teams (head-to-head records) #

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 ...

of the games involving the tied teams #

of all of the games played #Points scored #Drawing of lots The teams with the four best records qualified for the knockout stage, which was a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. The semifinal winners contested for the gold medal, while the losers played for the bronze medal.

Calendar

Men's competition

The draw for the groups of the men's tournament was made on 30 April 2012. Included are the teams'

FIBA World Rankings The FIBA Men's World Ranking are FIBA's rankings of national basketball teams. FIBA ranks both men's and women's national teams for both senior and junior competitions. It also publishes combined rankings for all mixed-sex competitions. Not incl ...

prior to the tournament.

Women's competition

The draw for the groups of the women's tournament was made on 30 April 2012. Included are the teams' FIBA World Rankings before the tournament.

Referees

The

International Basketball Federation The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

(FIBA) named the following 30 referees to officiate the basketball games at the 2012 Olympics. * Samir Abaakil * Recep Ankaralı * Juan Carlos Arteaga * Michael Aylen * Ilija Belošević * Snehal Bendke * José Anibal Carrion * Guerrino Cerebuch * Elena Chernova * Christos Christodoulou * Carole Delauné * Pablo Alberto Estévez * Marcos Fornies Benito * Vitalis Odhiambo Gode * Felicia Andrea Grinter * Carl Jungebrand * William Gene Kennedy * Luigi Lamonica * Oļegs Latiševs * Robert Lottermoser * Cristiano Jesus Maranho * Vaughan Charles Mayberry * Rabah Noujaim * Peng Ling * Saša Pukl * Borys Ryschyk * Fernando Jorge Sampietro * Stephen Seibel * Shoko Sugruro * Jorge Vázquez

Medal summary

Medal table

Events

Final standings

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olympics

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Basketball in London 2012 in basketball International basketball competitions hosted by the United Kingdom Olympics