ACOG - News - IBM

Olympic Basketball Recaps: 22 July (Day 3)

Men's Basketball Preliminaries / Group B

KOR vs. PUR

ORTIZ (PUR) Tallies 37 Points to Lead Puerto Rico Over Korea:

In a must-win situation, Puerto Rico's Jose Piculin ORTIZ scored 37 points to lead his squad to a 98-86 victory over Korea. Puerto Rico is now 1-1 in Group B, while Korea drops to 0-2. Puerto Rico led most of the way, but Korea closed what had been an 16-point deficit to just 1 point at 86-85 with 4:43 remaining. Puerto Rico then closed out the game with a 13-1 run to end Korea's hopes for a win. Ramon RIVAS (PUR) scored eight of his 18 points during the run at the end of the contest. Korea placed five players in double-digits as MOON Kyung-Eun (KOR) led the way with 20 points. Final Score: PUR 98, KOR 86.


Men's Basketball Preliminaries / Group B

YUG vs. AUS

Yugoslavia Scores Big Win Over Australia:

Right from the opening tip-off there was no doubt which team was going to walk off of the court in victory. Yugoslavia scored early and often in running away from Australia 91-68. The Yugoslavian team lead, which was only 10 points with 10:00 to go in the first half, reached 26 (54-28) by halftime. Australia managed to connect on only 38 percent of its shots from the field in the first half and committed 11 turnovers. Yugoslavia was led in scoring by Predrag DANILOVIC. Final Score: YUG 91, AUS 68.


Men's Basketball Preliminaries / Group A

ARG vs. LTU

Argentina Records Big Upset in Win Over Lithuania:

Argentina, despite losing two starters to injuries, recorded a 65-61 upset victory over Lithuania Monday night in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. With 5:09 remaining in regulation, Argentina trailed 53-48 on the heels of a 14-0 run by Lithuania. Argentina then went on a 9-2 run that was capped by two free throws by Juan ESPIL (ARG) with 2:30 remaining to give the Argentineans the lead for good at 57-55. ESPIL scored another 6 points in the final 30 seconds to hold off any thought of a Lithuanian comeback. Earlier in the game, Argentina starters Marcelo NICOLA and Ruben WOLKOWISKY each left the game with injuries. ESPIL led Argentina with 25 points and 6 rebounds, while Arvydas SABONIS (LTU) led Lithuania with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Final Score: ARG 65, LTU 61.


Men's Basketball Preliminaries / Group A

ANG vs. USA

Team USA Pulls Away in Second Half for 87-54 Win Over Angola:

The result may have been the same, but the game itself bared no resemblance to the 1992 Barcelona game between the United States and Angola. In the 1992 Olympic Games, USA demolished Angola 116-48. The 1996 version of USA/Angola still resulted in a win for the Americans, but the Angolans played well throughout. Team USA, commonly called the greatest basketball team in the world, sputtered in the beginning before turning on the engines and pulling out to a 44-31 lead at half-time. Angola's David DIAS connected on a 3-point shot to begin the second half and pull his squad to within 10 points at 44-34. The Americans then began to play up to expectations by going on a 14-5 run to open up a 21-point advantage. Four players for the United States scored in double-figures: Karl MALONE (12), Scottie PIPPEN (11), Mitch RICHMOND (10) and Reggie MILLER (10). Charles BARKLEY (USA) added 7 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Antonio CARVALHO (ANG) led Angola with 16 points, connecting on four 3-point attempts. DIAS tallied 10 points to add to the Angola cause. Final Score: USA 87, ANG 54.


Men's Basketball Preliminaries / Group B

BRA vs. GRE

ECONOMOU Leads Greece to First-Ever Olympic Games Victory in Men's Basketball:

Greece, playing in its first-ever Olympic Games, defeated Brazil 89-87 in Group B play to capture its first win of the tournament as Nikos ECONOMOU poured in a game-high 36 points. Greece, which lost in Saturday's opening round to Yugoslavia, led all but 1:02 of the entire game. With the game tied at 23-23 with 11:32 remaining in the first half, Greece went on a 17-4 run to open up a 40-27 advantage with 6:51 left. Brazil quickly responded as international superstar Oscar SCHMIDT (BRA) caught fire from beyond the 3-point arc and brought the Brazilians all the way back before half-time. SCHMIDT tallied 25 of his team-leading 32 points in the first half, connecting on 7-of-11 3-point field goals. With no time remaining on the clock at the half, Greece's Dinos AGELIDIS was called for a foul to send Carlos Olivia DO NASCIMENTO (BRA) to the free throw line. DO NASCIMENTO connected on both free throws to tie the game at 54-54 going into the locker rooms. The second half saw the game battle back and forth before Greece opened up an eight-point lead at 89-81 with just 0:21 remaining in the game. Again, Brazil did not give up and connected on two three-pointers to narrow the gap. Unfortunately for Brazil, there was not enough time to complete the comeback as the buzzer sounded. Joining ECONOMOU in leading Greece to victory were Panayotis FASSOULAS with 16 points and Giorgos SIGALAS with 13 points. Final Score: GRE 89, BRA 87.


Men's Basketball Preliminaries / Group B

CRO vs. CHN

Croatia Roles to Easy Victory Over China: While everyone knows Croatian players Toni KUKOC and Dino RADJA, it was guard Arijan KOMAZEC who led Croatia to a 109-78 victory over the People's Republic of China on Day 3 of Olympic competition. The game was never really in doubt as Croatia took the lead with just over 18:00 to go in the first half and never looked back en route to the victory. KOMAZEC connected on 11-of-15 shots from the field, including 6-of-7 from beyond the 3-point arc, to lead all scorers with 36 points. Zan TABAK (CRO) and RADJA added 24 and 21 points, respectively. KUKOC, who took only four shots the entire game, played the role of Santa Claus in July by handing out 12 assists. ZHENG Wu (CHN) and WANG Zhi-zhi (CHN) tallied 15 points each to lead China in scoring. Also in double-figures for China were LI Xiao-yong with 14 and GONG Xiao-bin with 12. Final Score: CRO 109, CHN 78.


This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department.


Return to the Olympic News Menu

Select another day:
Pre July 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 August 1 2 3 4 Post


Olympic Factoid
More tickets were sold to the competitions of the 1996 Games than to any other Olympic Games or sports event in history. The 8.6 million ticket sales figures topped sales to the Los Angeles and Barcelona Games combined.