A mouthwatering encounter between USA and France will be the pick of the preliminary round games of the London 2012 Olympics.
Gold medallists and world champions USA will face-off with the Eurobasket runners-up in Group A alongside Argentina, Tunisia and the top two qualifiers from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament to be held in Caracas, Venezuela in early-July.
The hosts Great Britain are in Group B where in their third major tournament ever, will playing Eurobasket winners and 2006 world champions Spain for the third time. But their pre-Olympic warm-up with the USA will now mean even more as they are not paired together in the preliminary round.
Team GB do, however face their biggest sporting rivals Australia in a basketball ashes style game. Those two teams are alongside Brazil, China and the third placed qualifier.
FIBA’s decision to grant Great Britain a spot at this summer’s Games could well be a good omen for coach Chris Finch’s side, as he will be pleased with that draw.
Group A
USA
France
Argentina
Tunisia
Qualifier 1
Qualifier 2
Group B
Spain
Australia
Brazil
China
Great Britain
Qualifier 3