Japan makes the US work, China takes down Australia

Miguel Angel Moreno

Saitama, Jul 30 (EFE). – The surprise of the Asian teams in Tokyo 2020. The United States had to put on overalls to beat a difficult Japanese team (86-69), and China defeated world runner-up Australia (76-74); France beat Nigeria (87-62) and Belgium defeated Puerto Rico (87-52).

Belgium is already ranked in the quarter-finals and the USA practically takes its victory, because in the event of an unexpected defeat on the last day, it will be in second place or one of the best thirds; While Australia, who reached the final at the 2018 World Cup in Tenerife, are on the verge of elimination.

The stars and stripes had to work hard to beat Japan (86-69), which became one of the tournament’s tragedies. The host team defends hard and has a sharp wrist that helped them defeat France on the first day but against the Americans it wasn’t nearly as effective.

Basketball’s eternal Olympic champions – with six consecutive gold medals and looking for a seventh place – had to cling to their indoor games, with superb matches by Aja Wilson (20 points and 10 rebounds) and Britney Grenier (15 and 5) and with stunning Brenna Stewart stepping in from the ocean , with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists to take the game 86-69.

And if Japan indicated the roads, China confirmed it by defeating Australia with a misleading score (76-74), which does not reflect the entire Asian giant’s control of the match most of the time, because the Australian Opals hardly came close. Fracture edge (38-38) and in the final stage.

In the rest of the fencing, the Chinese team, one of the strongest players in the indoor game, dominated the rebound (42-31) and the strength of its centerpiece Yueru Li (12 points and 7 rebounds) added the success of the overseas. Siyu Wang (20 points, 5 assists) and Meng Li (11, 7), despite the 21 turns they made.

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Australia is seen without wins and very few options to qualify for the quarter-finals, as it is the only third unwinn to have the points scored and received difference of -17 while the rest of the contenders, France and Canada, are in positive numbers.

European runner-up France managed to extricate themselves from their stumble at the premiere against Japan with a 25th (87-62) victory over Nigeria which left a good image when they debuted against the United States, but that against the deck barely resisted even the divider (44 – 27). ).

The French team presented a choral image, with up to five players with more than ten points, such as Sandrine Groda (14 and 9 rebounds), Marin Johannes (13, 4 and 4 assists), Inden Miim (14 and 5), Gabe Williams ( 13 and 9) and Alex Duchette (13 and 5 assists) dominated the rebound with 45 sacks against 32 Africans.

Belgium had more facilities to add to their second win over Puerto Rico. After winning a battle against Australia, the Europeans easily beat Central Americans in the morning session, who live in Tokyo 2020 in their first ever Olympic experience (87-52).

Emphasizing their extremely fast game in the transition and with Emma Meissmann as a beacon in the paint who scored a ‘double double’ of 26 points and 15 rebounds, Belgium broke the game in the second quarter and made it into the first half with a score of 43-24, then went on to increase his advantage In the event of any dispute it shall be settled by the difference in points scored and earned. his 122.

For Puerto Rico, everything these games experience is a positive experience that ramps up the pace of competition. In this case, she’s been more consistent than in her debut against China with striker Jazmon Gwathmey as the player with the most advantage with 20 points and 5 rebounds. They will conclude their Olympic experience against Australia, needing a win.

Tomorrow Saturday will be a rest day for the women’s basketball tournament at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, as the last day of the men’s tournament begins.

Today’s results:

Group B:

United States 86 – 69 Japan

France 87 – 62 Nigeria

Group C:

Belgium 87 – 52 Puerto Rico

China 76 – 74 Australia

(c) EFE . Agency