The Olympic tournament in Lille features Greece and Spain in Group A, along with Australia and Canada. Brazil are in Group B with France, Germany and Japan. Puerto Rico have been placed in Olympic Group C, where they will meet the United States, South Sudan and Serbia. The play-offs will be held in the French capital at the Accor Arena (also known as Paris-Bercy). 

As always, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a great compromise, despite the calf injury he's had since 9 April (he didn't play in the second game). After crushing Luka Doncic's Slovenia in the semi-finals, Greece overcame a slow start to beat Croatia 80-69 in the final in Piraeus, with their biggest star scoring 23 points. 

Croatia started the decider better, leading by four points in the first quarter, which ended 22-22. As 'Anteto' began to penetrate and Greece shot 12-of-32 from three-point range, the hosts took control and led 39-45 at half-time. Despite the absence of the 'reserved' Kostas Sloukas, the hosts controlled the third quarter with great defence (53-66) and won with authority (69-80). 

The 2006 world champions and 1987 and 2005 European champions are seeking their first Olympic medal after finishing fifth at Atlanta 1996 (99-66 quarter-final defeat to Lithuania), Athens 2004 (64-69 loss to Argentina despite leading 35-29 at half-time) and Beijing 2008 (80-78 quarter-final defeat to the Albiceleste, in which the legendary Manu Ginobili scored 24 points). 

"It is unbelievable. I don't think the scenario could have been better than in your house, with people supporting you. It's unbelievable! Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to play in the Olympics. I don't want to talk about medals. The last time we went to the Olympics was in 2008. One step at a time," said Kostas Antetokounmpo. 

After the great era of Pau Gasol, his brother Marc, Juan Carlos Navarro, 'Chacho' Rodríguez, José Manuel Calderón and the still playing Ricky Rubio, Spain had a tough game against the Bahamas, a team packed with NBA stars such as Deandre Ayton (Blazers), Eric Gordon (Suns), Buddy Hield (Warriors) and the 18-year-old V. J. Edgecombe, who plays for the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas, the hometown of 400m athletics legend Jeremy Wariner.

What do you do when your opponents have better players? The only way is to play as a team, and Spain's coach, Italian Sergio Scariolo, is a master of the art. With USA-born Panathinaikos' Lorenzo Brown (18 points), NBA's Santi Aldama (12 points and seven rebounds) and FC Barcelona's Willy Hernangómez (15 points and seven rebounds) as key players, La Familia was better as a team and played better when it counted. 

With 17 points and 14 rebounds, a great Ayton was alone in a team with great shooters that made just 32% from three (8/25), with Hield a dreadful 2/10. After a close tight first quarter (17-17), the Bahamas took a six-point lead (17-23) and the game exploded with three three-pointers from Brown in less than two minutes (42-34 at halftime).

The hosts' victory and ticket to Paris was never in doubt (65-56 after three quarters and 86-78 at the break). Real Madrid's Rudy Fernandez scored nine points for Spain, and at the age of 39 he is playing in a record sixth Olympics, breaking a tie with six other men and four other women in five Olympic basketball tournaments... but he will remain tied with five-time Olympic champion Diana Taurasi of the USA who is seeking a sixth Olympic title. 

Puerto Rico are back at the Olympic Games 20 years after finishing fifth at Athens 2004. The Boricuas may not have been the favourites in a pre-Olympic tournament featuring Italy and Lithuania, but they were the better side in front of more than 12,000 fans at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan. 

The Americans finished top of their group after giving Bahrain no chance (56-99) and beating Italy (80-69). Puerto Rico also dominated in the semi-final against Mexico with 24 points from Waters (98-78) and used a great third quarter (15-23) to beat Lithuania in the final despite 16 points from FC Barcelona's Rokas Jokubaitis. 

The Caribbean team's biggest star turned in a stunning performance. New York-born José Alvarado (New Orleans Pelicans) scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the team, with coach Nelson Colón also on the bench. 

In Riga, too, everything was in place for a Latvian party, but what they experienced was a nightmare. A team with caps called Brazil controlled everything from the first minute on their way to a stunning 69-94 victory (33-49 at halftime). 

The Verdeamarelha hit eight of their eight three-point attempts to take an 11-34 lead at the end of the first quarter. Leo Meindl scored 21 points, as did Bruno Caboclo of Serbia's Red Star, who was named MVP of the tournament. "I am so excited, so happy. These are the best plans I could have for the summer," he said. 

It's also worth mentioning the figure of Marcelinho Huertas, who turned 41 last April and was also important for the South American national team with 12 points, four rebounds and seven assists (he's a great master of this part of the game), building up a +14 in efficiency.