France, Germany, Canada clinch Olympic basketball quarterfinal berths at Paris Games

1 of 3 |

France’s Matthew Strazel celebrates after France defeated Japan in a men’s basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

2 of 3 |

Australia’s Nick Kay, left, dunks as Canada’s Dwight Powell, center, and Canada’s Kelly Olynyk defend during a men’s basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, Pool)

3 of 3 |

Canada’s RJ Barrett, center, shoots as Australia’s Jock Landale, left, and Australia’s Dyson Daniels defend during a men’s basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, Pool)

By Tim Reynolds

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — France’s miracle last-second comeback at the Paris Games on Tuesday got even better a few hours later, when the host nation clinched a spot in the quarterfinals and a trip to Paris for the knockout round next week.

Also now officially in the Olympic quarterfinals: Germany and Canada. And on Wednesday, the winner of the U.S.-South Sudan game also will have a spot in the quarterfinals all wrapped up.

The field for the medal round began taking shape Tuesday, especially after reigning World Cup champion Germany pulled away from a halftime tie and beat Brazil 86-73 in the final game of the evening. That victory came just after France got a four-point play from Matthew Strazel to tie the game late in regulation and beat Japan 94-90 in overtime behind 18 points from Victor Wembanyama.

Those results left France and Germany atop Group B at 2-0 and ensured of the top two spots in the group over Brazil and Japan, both of whom are 0-2. Canada’s win over Australia earlier Tuesday also pushed it to 2-0 and now assured of no worse than a wild-card spot in the quarterfinals.

“I just heard that,” Germany forward Franz Wagner said about clinching the spot in the quarterfinals. “Honestly, I didn’t know. It’s good.”

There are three different groups of four teams in the Olympic tournament; the top two finishers in each group make the quarterfinals, and the final two spots in the next round go to the best third-place teams in group play.

Paris Olympics

The Olympics are more than fun and games. They’re a billion-dollar business with political overtones.
Breakdance will make it’s debut as an Olympic sport in Paris.. Here’s what else will be different at this year’s games.
Follow all of AP’s coverage of the Summer Games.

France, the silver medalist to the U.S. at the Tokyo Games three years ago, is in the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive Olympics. Germany has now made the quarterfinals for the second consecutive Olympics — after not making it that far in the tournament since 1992 — and Canada is in the quarters for the first time since 2000.

Canada leads Group A at 2-0, followed by Australia and Spain at 1-1 and Greece at 0-2. Germany and France are atop Group B at 2-0, over Brazil and Japan. And Group C gets through its second day of games on Wednesday; the U.S. and South Sudan are both 1-0, while Puerto Rico and Serbia are both 0-1.

“Obviously, it’s nice to get the first two and now we’ve qualified,” Germany coach Gordie Herbert said. “It’s a good situation for us.”

The full quarterfinal field may not be known until Saturday, when the draw for the quarterfinal matchups will be held. The knockout round starts next week in Paris.

___

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Tim Reynolds

NBA writer

Olympic Hightlights

1 of 7 |

FILE - South Africa’s Jacques Freitag competes in the men’s high jump of the 2004 Olympic Games, in the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Friday Aug. 20, 2004. Local media is reporting that South African police have discovered the body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag after he went missing last month. The reports said the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

2 of 7 |

FILE - Ilona Maher of USA is tackled by Sharni Williams of Australia in a semifinal of the Rugby World Cup 7’s championship held in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. The main task for Maher, the breakout social media star on TikTok at the Tokyo Olympics, is winning a medal in Paris. (AP Photo/Halden Krog, File)

3 of 7 |

FILE - Jacques Freitag of South Africa waves his national flag after he won the Men’s high jump event at the World Athletics Championships, at the Stade de France in Saint Denis, north of Paris, Monday, Aug. 25, 2003. Local media is reporting that South African police have discovered the body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag after he went missing last month. The reports said the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)

4 of 7 |

Sammy Sullivan of USA in action during HSBC rugby sevens series in Singapore, on May 4, 2024. The anthem played as Army officer Sammy Sullivan stood to attention and saluted beside her U.S. rugby teammates before a gold-medal game in Hong Kong against Olympic champion New Zealand. No prizes for guessing where her mind may have drifted to: Paris in July. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

5 of 7 |

USA Water Polo Women’s Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul, left, trains at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women’s water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

6 of 7 |

Iranian wrestler Iman Mahdavi, 28, practices at the Lotta Club Seggiano gym, in Pioltello , northern Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

7 of 7 |

FILE - Steven van de Velde of the Netherlands competes during the CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Vienna 2022 men’s semifinal game against Austria at the Red Bull Beach Arena in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. Van de Velde, convicted and imprisoned eight years ago for raping an underage girl in England has qualified for the Paris Olympics. (AP Photo/Florian Schroetter, File)