Nigerian women first African team to make basketball Olympic quarterfinals

With only one victory (at the 2004 Athens Games), the Nigerians (2-1) are now extending their Olympic participation record. The U.S., aiming for its seventh straight gold medal, will face them in the quarterfinals.

After defeating Canada, the next opponent is the United States, which does not matter now.

As Kalu and her teammates began to celebrate near midcourt, an assistant coach captured the scene on camera. After pausing to high-five the Canadians, the Nigerians resumed their celebration with a huddle in the middle of the court.

On the floor, an assistant coach plucked a flag off a supporter for photo opportunities, and the Nigerians cherished the occasion, embracing one another and posing for further pictures.

On the last day of group play, a team ranked twelfth eliminated Canada, the world's number five-ranked women's basketball team, leaving them winless in three games.

In Sunday night's last game of group play, Australia defeated France 79-72. The Opals (2-1) avoided elimination in front of 27,193 spectators, which FIBA stated was a record for women's basketball in Europe. They won the eighth and final quarterfinal spot.

After Sunday night's draw, the first quarterfinal will be played on Wednesday. The Australians will face Serbia. After Belgium and Spain, France and Germany will play, and finally, the United States and Nigeria will play.

With the United States at the front of the pack, five nations entered the last day, securing spots: Germany, France, Serbia, and Spain. Australia, Nigeria, and Belgium held the finals on Sunday.

After going winless in Tokyo, Nigeria could not secure a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The women's squad will now play Wednesday in Bercy Arena on the banks of the Seine River after being refused entrance to Nigeria's boat for the opening ceremony on July 26.

In the 100-meter final, American Noah Lyles had one of the closest finishes in Olympic history, winning by a margin of 5,000th a second.

In the men's tennis singles final, Novak Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz for his first Olympic gold medal.

A Belgian swimmer became sick while competing in the mixed relay triathlon, so the country decided to withdraw from the event.

Nigeria took an early lead, scoring six points. The injury to Captain Amy Okonkwo's right shoulder occurred in the early minutes of the second quarter, as she was diving for a lost ball when she collided with Canada forward Aaliyah Edwards; the Canadians went into halftime leading 41-37.

After Okonkwo's comeback, Nigeria went on a 13-1 run to start the third quarter. Canada was outscored 23-5 in the third quarter, giving Nigeria a 60-46 advantage going into the fourth.

Nigeria also received 14 points from Elizabeth Balogun and 12 from Promise Amukamara.

Among Canada's scorers, Shay Colley had 17, Bridget Carleton 13, and Kayla Alexander 12.

Australia 79, France 72

As a group, the Opals leaped with joy after their crushing victory against France.

A sea of flag-waving supporters rallied behind the French(2-1), who took bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

The Opals took a 59-50 advantage into the game's final ten minutes after outscoring France 25-16 in the third. Thanks to Gabby Williams, France was within striking distance with 4:40 remaining.

With goals from Tess Madgen and a corner three from Cayla George, the Opals were able to get some breathing distance.

Madgen scored 18 points to lead Australia. Ezi Magbegor scored 14 points, and Sami Whitcomb and Alanna Smith each scored 12.

Williams finished with 15 for France (2-1).

U.S. 87, Germany 68

At the beginning of group play, the Americans flaunted their size. They showed off their incredible depth by outscoring Germany 52-13 in reserve points, clinching first place in their group.

For the United States, Jackie Young scored nineteen points. With 13 points each, Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson contributed 14.

With their 58th straight Olympic victory, which began at the 1992 Barcelona Games, the United States of America secured first place in their pool and continued their record run.

Just before the Olympics, these two teams played an exhibition game in London. The United States cruised to an easy 84–57 win, but they had to put forth a little more effort for this one.

Belgium 85, Japan 58

Belgium secured the first of three remaining quarterfinal spots with a lopsided victory against Japan. Emma Meesseman led the Cats with 30 points and 11 rebounds. After the final buzzer, the Cats gathered at midcourt, where they danced, hugged, and some even wiped tears from their eyes.

After taking home silver in the Tokyo Games three years ago, Japan (0-3) was eliminated from the competition. As they exited the court, the Japanese brushed off their tears.

For the second year in a row, the Olympic silver medalist has gone home empty-handed in the subsequent Games. After taking silver in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Spain lost to France in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics.

To advance, Belgium (1-2) required a 27-point victory against Japan and a superior point difference than China. Many people attempted to cheer on the Cats since Belgium was just around 20 miles (32 kilometers) away, and China (1-2) was waiting to see what happened in the last three games.

The greatest worry was the final margin, as the Cats had a 19-7 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter. After a 20-16 second quarter, Belgium took a 39-23 advantage into halftime, thanks in large part to Japan's tough play.

The third quarter saw Belgium take a 61-39 advantage as they outscored Japan 22-16. Knowing that a victory by whatever margin was necessary, the crowd went wild after Belgium scored every goal. With 4 minutes and 52 seconds remaining, Elise Ramette made a 3-pointer to increase the advantage to 71-44, triggering a timeout for Japan as Becky Massey embraced her.

With 16 points, Ramette secured first place. Maxuella Mbaka Lisowa and Antonia Delaere both had twelve. Evelyn Mawuli contributed 12 points, while Saki Hayashi of Japan topped with 13.

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