Basketball at the 1972 Summer Olympics
8th Olympic Basketball Tournament | |||||||||
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Munich 1972 | |||||||||
Tournament details | |||||||||
Olympics | 1972 Summer Olympics | ||||||||
Host nation | West Germany | ||||||||
City | Munich | ||||||||
Duration |
August 27, 1972 – September 9, 1972 | ||||||||
Men's tournament | |||||||||
Teams | 16 | ||||||||
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Tournaments | |||||||||
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Basketball contests at the 1972 Summer Olympics took place at Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich, Germany from August 27 to September 9. The Soviet Union won the gold medal, after a controversial final against the United States. This was the first time the USA did not win a gold medal since the sport's introduction into the Olympics in 1936. The bronze was won by Cuba, the only Olympic medal they have won in basketball.
Medal summary
† – Medals refused by team
Qualification
Automatic qualifications were granted to the host country and the first four places at the previous tournament. Additional spots were decided by various continental tournaments held by FIBA plus an additional pre-Olympic tournament that granted two extra berths.
Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | Oceania | Automatic qualifiers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Egypt[a] Senegal | Cuba Puerto Rico | Japan Philippines | Italy Czechoslovakia Poland Spain | Australia | United States – Gold medal in 1968 SFR Yugoslavia – Silver medal in 1968 Soviet Union – Bronze medal in 1968 Brazil – 4th place in 1968 West Germany – Olympic hosts |
- a Egypt withdrew from the tournament following the events of the Munich massacre.
Format
- Two groups of eight teams are formed, where the top two from each group compete for the medals in a knockout round.
- The remaining places are defined as follows:
- Fifth through eighth places are decided in a separate bracket between the third and fourth places from each group in a separate bracket.
- Ninth through sixteenth places are decided between the fifth through eighth places from each group in separate brackets.
Tie-breaking criteria:
- Head to head results
- Goal average (not the goal difference) between the tied teams
Preliminary round
Group A
The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, while the remaining teams compete for 5th through 16th places in separate brackets.
Qualified for the semifinals |
Team | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | 1st Tie |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | 7 | 0 | 542 | 312 | +230 | 14 | |
Cuba | 6 | 1 | 560 | 445 | +115 | 13 | |
Brazil | 4 | 3 | 561 | 490 | +71 | 11 | 1W–0L |
Czechoslovakia | 4 | 3 | 493 | 489 | +4 | 11 | 0W–1L |
Spain | 3 | 4 | 486 | 500 | −14 | 10 | 1W–0L |
Australia | 3 | 4 | 523 | 524 | −1 | 10 | 0W–1L |
Japan | 1 | 6 | 442 | 643 | −201 | 8 | |
Egypt | 0 | 7 | 440 | 644 | −204 | 7 |
Group B
Qualified for the semifinals |
Team | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | 1st Tie | 2nd Tie |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Soviet Union | 7 | 0 | 639 | 479 | +160 | 14 | ||
Italy | 5 | 2 | 547 | 471 | +76 | 12 | 1W–1L | 1.072 |
SFR Yugoslavia | 5 | 2 | 582 | 484 | +98 | 12 | 1W–1L | 1.013 |
Puerto Rico | 5 | 2 | 570 | 531 | +39 | 12 | 1W–1L | 0.917 |
West Germany | 3 | 4 | 482 | 518 | −36 | 10 | ||
Poland | 2 | 5 | 520 | 536 | −16 | 9 | ||
Philippines | 1 | 6 | 526 | 666 | −140 | 8 | ||
Senegal | 0 | 7 | 405 | 586 | −181 | 7 |
Knockout stage
Medal bracket
Semifinals (September 7[1]) | Gold medal (September 9) | |||||||
A1 | United States | 68 | ||||||
B2 | Italy | 38 | ||||||
A1 | United States | 50 | ||||||
B1 | Soviet Union | 51 | ||||||
B1 | Soviet Union | 67 | ||||||
A2 | Cuba | 61 | Bronze medal (September 8) | |||||
B2 | Italy | 65 | ||||||
A2 | Cuba | 66 |
Classification brackets
5th–8th place
Semifinals (September 7[1]) | 5th place (September 9) | |||||||
A3 | Brazil | 83 | ||||||
B4 | Puerto Rico | 87 | ||||||
B4 | Puerto Rico | 70 | ||||||
B3 | SFR Yugoslavia | 86 | ||||||
B3 | SFR Yugoslavia | 66 | ||||||
A4 | Czechoslovakia | 63 | 7th place (September 8) | |||||
B3 | Brazil | 87 | ||||||
A4 | Czechoslovakia | 69 |
9th–12th place
Semifinals (September 5) | 9th place (September 9) | |||||||
A5 | Spain | 76 | ||||||
B6 | Poland | 87 | ||||||
B6 | Poland | 83 | ||||||
A6 | Australia | 91 | ||||||
B5 | West Germany | 69 | ||||||
A6 | Australia | 70 | 11th place (September 8) | |||||
A5 | Spain | 84 | ||||||
B5 | West Germany | 83 |
13th–16th place
Semifinals (September 5) | 13th place (September 7) | |||||||
A7 | Japan | 70 | ||||||
B8 | Senegal | 67 | ||||||
A7 | Japan | 73 | ||||||
B7 | Philippines | 82 | ||||||
B7 | Philippines | 2 | ||||||
A8 | Egypt | 0[a] | 15th place | |||||
B8 | Egypt | 0[a] | ||||||
A8 | Senegal | 2 |
- a Forfeited match.
Final
The 1972 Olympic men's basketball final was one of the most controversial in Olympic history. After an inbound pass was blocked and the US won by 50 to 49, an Olympic official (Renato William Jones) sitting in the stands overturned the referees and demanded the Soviet team be granted another chance and two seconds were added to the clock. The shot made by the Soviets missed and the American Team began to celebrate, but the official demanded a third try be permitted. On the third attempt the Soviet team made the winning basket. The Americans protested the outcome, but the result stood and marked the first ever loss for Team USA since the sport began Olympic play in 1936. The US team refused to accept the silver medals and still haven't collected them to this day.
September 9 23:30 |
Soviet Union | 51–50 | United States |
Scoring by half: 26–21, 25–29 | ||
Pts: Sergey Belov 20 Rebs: Alexander Belov 8 |
Pts: Tom Henderson, Jim Brewer 9 each Rebs: Mike Bantom 9 |
Final standings
Rank | Team | Pld | W | L |
---|---|---|---|---|
Soviet Union | 9 | 9 | 0 | |
United States | 9 | 8 | 1 | |
Cuba | 9 | 7 | 2 | |
4th | Italy | 9 | 5 | 4 |
5th | SFR Yugoslavia | 9 | 7 | 2 |
6th | Puerto Rico | 9 | 6 | 3 |
7th | Brazil | 9 | 5 | 4 |
8th | Czechoslovakia | 9 | 4 | 5 |
9th | Australia | 9 | 5 | 4 |
10th | Poland | 9 | 3 | 6 |
11th | Spain | 9 | 4 | 5 |
12th | West Germany | 9 | 3 | 6 |
13th | Philippines | 8 | 2 | 6 |
14th | Japan | 9 | 2 | 7 |
15th | Senegal | 8 | 0 | 8 |
16th | Egypt | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Awards
1972 Olympic Basketball Champions |
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Soviet Union First title |
References
- Official Report (PDF). 3: the competitions. Munich: Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXth Olympiad. 1973. pp. 418–437. OCLC 829366034. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- FIBA Results Archive:
- "1972 Olympic Games: Tournament for Men". Results Archive. FIBA. 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- "1972 Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament". Results Archive. FIBA. 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- "1972 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament". Results Archive. FIBA. 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
Citations
- 1 2 "Forbes Leads U.S. Romp". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Associated Press. September 8, 1972. p. B4. Retrieved November 7, 2012.