Group A concludes with Australia needing to defeat Belarus in its last game to guarantee top spot in the pool for which they currently sit proudly on a 4-0 mark.
Hosts Brazil finish their Olympic stint as they look to end with a bang against Turkey and Japan take on France to finalise Group A.
AUSTRALIA FINISH GROUP UNBEATEN, BEAT BELARUS
Australia confirmed Belarus’ elimination from this summer’s Olympic Games after the Opals came from behind to beat the European nation 74-66 to finish unbeaten in their group.
The Opals trailed 52-39 with 4:30 left in the third quarter but fought back and outscored Belarus 22-7 in the final frame to keep their perfect record. They will next play in Tuesday’s Quarter-Finals at Carioca Arena. The loss saw Belarus conclude their participation in the tournament with a 1-4 mark.
Elizabeth Cambage paced the Australians with 17 points with seven of those coming in the final period, the same amount as the Belorussian team put together.
TURKEY EDGE HOSTS IN DOUBLE OT
Like the hosts in the men’s tournament, Brazil suffered double overtime heartbreak as they narrowly lost to Turkey 79-76.
And the Turks had to fight back from a double-digit deficit in order to claim their third victory, which is good enough for a quarter-final place. A 16-0 run in the second quarter saw Brazil go up 31-13 and they headed into the locker room at the break up 36-20.
Turkey though hit back to force overtime and eventually secure the win.
Lara Sanders had a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds for the victorious Turks as they finish Group A with a winning 3-2 record. Brazil finish with a 0-5 record.
JAPAN BEAT FRANCE, BOTH SIDES ADVANCE TO LAST EIGHT
Japan beat France 79-71 in the final game of the group but both sides qualified to the quarter-finals by virtue of their final records of 3-2.
Japan join France and Turkey on the same 3-2 record. As a result of the three-way tie – and the fact that no one team beat the other two – Les Bleues finished second by virtue of having the best point differential of the three, with the Turks in third and the Asian champions fourth. They all join group winners Australia into the quarter-finals of the competition, which will be played in Carrioca Arena on Tuesday.
Rui Machida poured in a game-high 24 points for Japan.
Photo: FIBA
