With the 2 remaining journeys to the semifinals within the ladies’s 5×5 basketball competitors on the road on Wednesday, Aug. 7, Germany can be dealing with the host nation, France, at 12 p.m. ET (Peacock), and Crew USA will tackle Nigeria at 3:30 p.m. ET (USA Community).
France vs. Germany
12:00 p.m. ET; winner performs both Spain or Belgium
Les Bleues have had a profitable event to this point. They’ve gotten stellar performances from Gabby Williams, who’s averaging 13.6 factors, six assists and 4.6 rebounds on the Olympics. Her play, alongside together with her teammates Marine Johannès and Marième Badiane, is an enormous purpose why France received two of their three video games in Group B.
With the French males advancing to the semifinals on Tuesday, the ladies might be part of them on Wednesday and arrange a historic state of affairs with each trying to advance to the gold medal video games, the place Crew USA seemingly would await because the opponents.
To get there, they’ll need to undergo Germany, who’ve seemed comparatively good exterior of their 87-68 defeat to the USA. Nonetheless, on condition that the Individuals have received 58 video games in a row, it’s laborious to knock Germany for the loss. Of their pair of wins, they’ve gotten the job completed due to Satou Sabally’s play. The Dallas Wings participant has bounced again from her damage, serving to Germany start these Olympics with a win over Belgium earlier than scoring 33 factors towards Japan.
If she will get going towards France, they’ll have an opportunity to upset the house workforce; if not, they’ll want somebody like Leonie Fiebich or her youthful sister Nyara Sabally (whose standing is unsure after she missed Germany’s final two video games with a again damage) to play above and past to nonetheless have a shot at advancing.
Nigeria vs. Crew USA
3:30 p.m. ET; winner performs both Australia or Serbia
What do folks with energy need? Extra energy. Crew USA is as massive and as dominant as may be. No squad has terrorized a sport as relentlessly and repeatedly. I really feel secure saying that their Olympic successful streak—which is at 58-consecutive wins and counting—won’t ever be topped.
The remainder of the world is catching up, and as soon as they do, you’ll see the Individuals shedding sometimes, and the invincibility they at the moment reveal will vanish. However not right now.
You already know their names: A’ja Wilson, Brenna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and the listing goes on. At these Olympics, their armor has proven indicators of tenderness. The guards have noticeably struggled to dominate on the perimeter. With the physicality allowed in FIBA play, you’ve seen groups muck up the sport through the opening quarters. Ultimately, nevertheless, the perfect gamers throughout this event are nonetheless donning the crimson, white and blue. With 4 quarters to play, that high quality finally overwhelms their opponents and leads to comfy, double-digit wins.
For Nigeria to tug off the inconceivable, they’ll need to play the perfect basketball the nation has ever displayed. It’s unlikely to occur, however to this point, Nigeria has shocked the basketball world by reaching the quarterfinals, a feat no males’s or ladies’s workforce from Africa has ever achieved. It’s all gravy from right here. Enjoying with home cash, count on Nigeria to come back out impressed and with the whole lot they’ve through the opening minutes of their matchup on Wednesday.
Ezinne Kalu is a participant to look at on the Nigerian facet. She scored 21 factors of their win towards Canada of their ultimate Group B sport. The guard has led Nigeria in scoring in all three video games they’ve performed on the Olympics.
