In the early morning of August 5, Beijing time, the last game of the women's basketball group stage of the Paris Olympics was played by Australia against France; After four quarters of battle, Australia defeated France 79-72; At the same time, the Chinese women's basketball team officially bid farewell to the Olympic Games and missed the group qualification.
The host France has won 2 consecutive games to qualify early, and the reason why domestic fans are concerned is because this game is about the battle in which the Chinese women's basketball team can qualify; In the rules of basketball at the Olympics, the 12 teams are divided into three groups, with the top two and two of the best teams in the group finishing third-place to qualify for the quarterfinals. The Chinese women's basketball team has a record of 1 win and 2 losses in the group stage, and the Chinese team needs to beat the third place in one group to advance to the top 8. Previously, after the Belgium women's basketball team in Group C won Japan by 27 points, Belgium's goal difference was 0 points, and the Chinese women's basketball team's goal difference was minus 1 point; So Belgium have already qualified for one of the best results.
Group B is a more complicated affair, with France topping the table with 2 wins and 0 losses before the third round of group stage, Nigeria and Australia both 1 wins and 1 losses and a goal difference of -8, and Canada losing all 2 games. Nigeria won the final round against Canada first, and they advanced and eliminated Canada. For this reason, the result of Australia against France will affect the key to whether the Chinese women's basketball team can qualify, as long as the France team wins, the Chinese team will advance.
This game was difficult for both sides to solve, and although France advanced, it did not mean to release water; After all, if they lose, they may also meet a stronger team early in the knockout round. Only after 4 quarters of battle, France still lost to Australia 72:79, missing the group stage 3 consecutive wins; Australia also qualified for the tournament.
As the current world No. 2, the runner-up team in last year's Women's Basketball World Cup; Originally, the Chinese women's basketball team was still regarded as the favorite to qualify after the group draw. However, the first round of the group stage was reversed by Spain in a leading situation, and the second round was a heavy defeat to Serbia, even the final round victory over Puerto Rico handed over the fate to other opponents; In this way, the Chinese team did not have a chance to qualify for the third place with the best results in the three groups, but went home with the third place in the group with the worst results.