There are only 12 spots available for the Olympic basketball competitions, both for women and men. This is very limited considering the popularity of this sport and the fact that 16 women’s teams and 32 men’s teams participate in the World Cups. That’s why every qualification for the five-ring event is a highly contested battle, and the celebrations are a source of great national joy.
This Sunday happened to Puerto Rico, which in the final of their pre-Olympic group played in San Juan, defeated Lithuania's national team 79-68, who had Domantas Sabonis from the NBA's Kings in their ranks.
For the Puerto Rican team, José Alvarado (New Orleans Pelicans) had the hot hand with 23 points.
This will be Puerto Rico's first participation in men's Olympic basketball since 2004, and they will share Group C with Serbia, South Sudan, and the United States. The first phase will be held in Lille and the knockout rounds in Paris.
In chronological order, Puerto Rico secured the 12th spot for the Olympic Games, the last of the four that were determined this Sunday: the others went to Brazil, Greece, and Spain.
How did Brazil, Greece, and Spain classify for the Olympic Games?
- Brazil will be the only South American team in men's Olympic basketball after causing a major upset of the day and comfortably defeating Latvia 94-69 in Riga. Bruno Caboclo led Brazil with 21 points and Leo Meindl contributed 20. Brazil will be in Group B of the Olympic Games, facing France, Germany, and Japan in the first phase.
- Greece defeated Croatia 80-69 in the final held in Piraeus and Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of the NBA's biggest stars, will compete in his first Olympic Games after scoring 23 points. "We have nothing to lose... I truly believe we have an incredible team and we can achieve something special," said Antetokunmpo. The Hellenic team was placed in Group A alongside Australia, Canada, and Spain.
- Spain secured its seventh consecutive Olympic qualification after defeating Bahamas 86-78 in Valencia with a bit more difficulty than expected. The experienced forward Rudy Fernández, 39 years old, will go to the Olympic Games for the sixth time, a record in the history of Olympic basketball. Like Greece, the Spanish team will be in Group A.
What are the other teams qualified for Paris 2024?
They were already qualified for Paris 2024 through the 2023 World Cup for being the best placed from their respective confederations: Germany (world champion), Serbia, United States, Canada, Japan, South Sudan, and Australia, to which France is added as the host.