By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Gold, silver, and bronze are up for grabs in Tokyo. Slovenia meets France and the USA faces Australia to determine which national teams will move on to the gold medal game. The losing sides will still have a shot for bronze.
The semifinals of the men’s basketball tournament of the 2020 Olympic Games will be held on Thursday at Saitama Super Arena. The aforementioned medal affairs are scheduled to wrap things up on Saturday.
Luka Doncic effect
Slovenia comes in undefeated after four games, but semifinal opponent France has also remained unscratched, Australia as well. So, three out of the four remaining teams are 4-0 in Tokyo. However, Luka Doncic on a personal 17-0 in international tournaments makes those streaks almost meaningless.
Doncic, 22, has fallen short of the NBA championship since joining the Dallas Mavericks but has enjoyed plenty of success with Slovenia and Real Madrid. The 2017 EuroBasket and 2018 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague titles stand out as crowning achievements.
He is shining all around Tokyo with 26.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per match straight off his 21.3 points, 11.3 assists, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Survivors
Unlike Slovenia debuting in the Olympic Games, France is extremely experienced as a national team at this stage of international basketball. The European powerhouse is coming off back-to-back rankings as sixth in 2012 and 2016. They are guaranteed at least fourth in Tokyo, but returning home with a medal is the main goal. It’s been 21 years since they last captured silver medals in 2000.
Experienced NBA players the likes of Evan Fournier, Nicolas Batum, and Rudy Gobert are leading the tenth Olympic charge for the Blues with an extremely deep squad at the disposal of head coach Vincent Collet.
After turning some heads with another win against Team USA in the Tokyo opener, France went on defeating the Czech Republic, Iran, and Italy to make it to the semifinals.