As the final day of the 2024 Women's Basketball Olympic Qualification Tournament comes to an end, the eyes of basketball fans around the world are focused on the decisive matchup. Teams are doing their best to compete for that precious Olympic ticket. Although some teams lost in previous matches, they did not give up and chose to stay the course.
On this day, on the center stage of world basketball, traditional strong teams such as the Chinese women's basketball team, the United States team, and Australia all showed their good strength. However, surprisingly, the world champion Brazilian women's basketball team faced an unprecedented predicament in this crucial battle, and their three-game losing streak put them in a precarious situation.
The Brazilian women's basketball team, the team that won the 1994 World Cup, is now faltering in this qualifying round. They were narrowly beaten by Australia and Serbia and were at risk of being eliminated. As World Cup champions, their situation has undoubtedly become a major attraction of this competition.
In the final round of the life-and-death match, the Brazilian women's basketball team ushered in a contest with Germany. This match will be crucial for both sides, as only a win will give them hope of qualifying. Although the Brazilian women's basketball team is ranked higher than Germany in the world rankings, the game presents a very different dynamic.
At the end of the first half, Brazil trailed by four points, 35-39. However, in the second half, they showed tenacious fighting spirit and unyielding spirit. In the final quarter of the game, Brazil finally overtook Germany with an excellent performance and took the initiative of the game with a four-point lead with more than two minutes remaining. However, at this time, the Brazilian team's defense showed a hole, and the German team scored consecutive points. In the end, after Pasio's mistake, the German team relied on Fibic's free throws to rewrite the score to 73-71 and achieved a thrilling reversal.
With the defeat of the Brazilian team, the women's basketball Olympic qualifying tournament has also come to an end. The teams that qualified from each group were also announced.
In Group A, the Chinese women's basketball team, as the host, defeated the Puerto Rico team with an excellent performance in the final round, accumulating 5 points with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss, and successfully locked the second place in the group. Puerto Rico finished third with a 1-2 record and also qualified for the tournament. The New Zealand team unfortunately bid farewell to this tournament with a record of 3 consecutive defeats.
In Group B, the U.S. women's basketball team showed their strength and dominance, accumulating six points with a three-game winning streak and winning the top spot in the group without any suspense. Since the U.S. team has already qualified automatically, the teams that finished second and third in the group also qualified. Belgium and Nigeria qualified for the Olympics together with a record of 2-1 and 1-2 in second and third place respectively. Senegal, on the other hand, finished at the bottom with a three-game losing streak and missed out on qualifying.
In Group C, Australia had already secured the right to qualify one round earlier. Germany, Serbia and Brazil are battling it out for a place in the competition. In the end, Germany and Serbia qualified together with excellent performances, while Brazil unfortunately finished bottom with three consecutive defeats.
In the Asian competition, the Japanese women's basketball team finally won the final round against Canada after the match against Hungary, accumulating five points with a record of 2 wins and 1 loss, and successfully qualified for the promotion. Spain are also in second place with a record of five points. Canada and Hungary are tied on four points, but thanks to the better relationship between the winners and losers, Canada narrowly locked up third place and successfully qualified, while Hungary were unfortunately eliminated.
So far, the top 12 women's basketball teams in the Olympic Games have all been determined. The European zone is made up of strong teams such as France, Spain, Belgium, Serbia and Germany; The Asian region is represented by strong teams such as China, Japan and Australia; North America is led by teams from the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada; In Africa, Nigeria is the team that holds up the façade alone.
In this fierce Olympic qualifying tournament, the teams showed their fighting spirit and strength. The Chinese women's basketball team successfully advanced with a steady performance, adding another touch of luster to Asian basketball. Although the Brazilian women's basketball team unfortunately exited the tournament, their indomitable spirit in the game also won the respect and applause of the fans. This women's basketball Olympic qualifying tournament has undoubtedly become a basketball feast, allowing fans to witness the demeanor and fighting spirit of the women's basketball players.