The draw for the men’s and women’s basketball groups at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is complete.

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) recently held the draw for the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the Patrick Bauman House in Switzerland. It was a mixed moment for the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the Paris Olympics, which will take place from late July to mid-August.

First, Group A is considered the “Group of Death,” even though two nations have yet to be decided. Traditional powerhouses Australia and Canada have been drawn together. The other two spots will go to the winners of the final qualifiers in Valencia and Piraeus.

Lebanon, Angola, Spain, Finland, Poland, and the Bahamas will compete in the Valencia final. While host Spain is the favorite, Finland and Poland are European dark horses, and the Bahamas has recently added a number of 바카라사이트 NBA players to its roster, so the competition is sure to be hot.

The Piraeus finalists include Slovenia, New Zealand, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, and the Dominican Republic. Luka Doncic’s Slovenia and Yanis Adetokunbo’s Greece are the favorites.

Group A is likely to be Australia, Canada, Spain, and either Slovenia or Greece. It would be the worst ‘group of death’ ever, with no one being guaranteed an easy victory.

Group B pits reigning world champions Germany against Olympic hosts France. They will be challenged by Asia’s reigning champions, Japan. The remaining spot will go to the winner of the final qualifier in Riga. Georgia, the Philippines, Latvia, Brazil, Cameroon, and Montenegro will compete in Riga. Latvia and Brazil are expected to fight for one of the two spots.

Japan was humiliated at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on home soil three years ago, losing all three games and performing below expectations. The team had raised expectations by upsetting ‘favorites’ France in a pre-tournament assessment match, but collapsed in the main event.

Unlike three years ago, Japan has grown up with many trials and a solid plan. If Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe join them, their competitiveness is definitely high. However, their opponents are not good. France is a team that boasts an overwhelming height advantage with Victor Wambanyama and Rudy Gobert. They’ve had a recent string of humiliations, including poor international results and not having Joel Embiid, but it’s hard for Japan to overcome them at home.

Germany are the defending FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 champions. They are anchored by Dennis Schroder and the Wagner brothers, as well as homegrown players from the Euroleague and other European countries like Spain, Germany, and Italy.

Latvia and Brazil, who will occupy the remaining two spots, are also very tough opponents for Japan. Latvia was a Cinderella story at the recent Basketball World Cup, knocking off France and Spain to reach the quarterfinals. They also defeated Italy and Lithuania in the deciding game, making them an emerging powerhouse. Brazil hasn”t had the international success they deserve, but they have height, speed, and elasticity.

That said, Japan is the pride of Asian basketball. It will likely be the only purely Asian country to compete at the Olympics. Lebanon, the Philippines, and Bahrain will have one last shot at qualifying, but their chances of qualifying are virtually nil.

Finally, Group C features Serbia, South Sudan, and the winner of the San Juan Final Qualifier, led by five-time defending gold medalist Team USA.

The two-powerhouse system of the United States and Serbia will be challenged by African upstart South Sudan. The San Juan Final will feature Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire, Lithuania, Italy, Puerto Rico, and Bahrain. One of Italy or Lithuania is expected to punch their ticket to the main event.

The United States is expected to be at full strength heading into the Games. Having won gold in Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020, it will be interesting to see if they can make it five in a row.

Meanwhile, the women’s basketball groupings have been finalized.

Serbia, Spain, China and Puerto Rico are in Group A; Canada, Nigeria, Australia and France are in Group B; and Germany, the United States, Japan and Belgium are in Group C.

Group C, which includes Germany, the United States, Japan, and Belgium, is considered the “Group of Death. The United States is the “real dream team” and will be looking to win their eighth consecutive gold medal. To do so, they will have to get past Germany, Japan, and Belgium. Germany is a rising European powerhouse led by the Savalli sisters. Japan won silver at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, and Belgium is the second-strongest European champion after the United States.