On three continents, in four cities and over the span of three days, the Olympic fates of 14 basketball programs were about to get decided. With 16 national teams and 10 available spots at the Olympics remaining, this weekend was going to be a treat for women’s basketball fans… except for people rooting for the four teams that were about to be eliminated. For Team USA, the reigning world champions, and Team France, the host country of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the basketball tournament was a tune-up and a chance to try out some new plays and/or players. For other countries, it was life or death.
Back in October, the 16 competing national teams were divided into four groups. Below are the four host cities and four teams that, from Feb. 8-11, took them over in the name of women’s basketball:
- Xi’An, People’s Republic of China: Puerto Rico, China, New Zealand, France
- Antwerp, Belgium: Senegal, United States, Belgium, Nigeria
- Belém, Brazil: Brazil, Germany, Serbia, Australia
- Sopron, Hungary: Spain, Hungary, Canada, Japan
With Cat Ariail covering Team USA’s experience in Antwerp and Chelsea Leite celebrating Canada making the Olympics in Sopron, here I’ll focus on what happened in China and Brazil.
