Rio 2016 preliminary basketball schedules revealed
The men and women’s basketball schedules for Rio 2016 were released on Thursday.
Canada’s women’s basketball team will play its first game of the Olympics on August 6 against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. The opposing team will be known closer to the Games once all qualifying tournaments have been completed.
Canada celebrates gold in the final game against USA at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
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Canada, set to play in Group B, will then have a game every two days, with Serbia on August 8 followed by Senegal, United States, and another yet-to-be-qualified team. The quarterfinals will take place on August. 16 and the semifinals two days later. The bronze and gold medal games will be held on August 20. The knockout round games (quarterfinals onward) will move to the Barra Olympic Park, with preliminary games taking place in Deodoro.
The Canadian squad is currently ranked ninth in the FIBA World Rankings. This will be the second straight Olympic appearance for the women’s team after finishing eighth in London 2012.
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Canada’s Andrew Wiggins goes up for a shot against Venezuela at FIBA Americas on September 3, 2015.
Canada’s men’s team, currently ranked 26th by FIBA, could still qualify for Rio 2016. The final qualifying tournament for the men will be on July 5-10 in Manila, Philippines where Canada will be joined by Turkey, Senegal, France, New Zealand and the Philippines.
The men’s tournament at Rio 2016 will also begin on August 6, finishing 15 days later with all games taking place in the Carioca 1 arena at Barra Olympic Park.
