Four teams claim Olympic women’s basketball berths
June 14, 2008
Twelve women’s basketball teams are competing in the women’s Olympic qualifying basketball tournament in Madrid, Spain. Five of the teams will earn a ticket to Beijing for the Olympic basketball tournament.
After the quarterfinal matches that were completed yesterday four of those spots have now been claimed. Latvia, Belarus, Czech Republic and Spain can now make plans for Beijing. They all moved into the semifinals of the Olympic qualifying tournament.
Latvia moved into the semi’s with an 84-26 thrashing of Angola. Spain delighted the home crowd with a hard fought 82-68 win over Cuba. Belarus defeated Brazil in the closest match, 86-79. The Czech Republic got past Japan 76-64.
All of the losing quarterfinal teams now playoff for the last spot in the Beijing Olympic basketball tournament.
Women’s Olympic basketball qualifying tournament
June 12, 2008
There are 5 spots still up for grabs in the women’s Olympic basketball tournament. Twelve teams are currently battling it out to grab these spots. The qualifying tournament is held in Madrid, Spain from 9 June until 15 June.
The teams competing are in four groups. They are as follows:
Group A: Japan, Latvia, Senegal
Group B: Angola, Argentina, Czech Republic
Group C: Brazil, Fiji, Spain
Group D: Belarus, Chinese Taipei, Cuba
The teams placed first and second in each group will advance to play in the quarter-finals. The four semi-finalists will qualify for Beijing. The four losing teams from the semi-finals will play elimination games to decide who get the last Olympic basketball tournament spot.
Seven teams have already qualified to play in Beijing from August 9th to 23rd August. Australia, China, Korea, Mali, New Zealand, Russia and USA.
Check back here for results from the tournament in Madrid or visit the official FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women site
The Beijing Olympic basketball tournament will be played in the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium. The stadium is located in Wukesong Culture and Sports Center.
