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Basketball matches for Rio Olympics to be "really competitive" : U.S. head coach

Xinhua, March 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

The draw for the Rio 2016 Olympics appears to be "extremely balanced," and the entire tournament will be "really competitive," Mike Krzyzewski, head coach for U.S. men' s basketball team, said Friday.

"We know that repeating as gold medalists at the 2016 Olympics will be a challenge, and that's what makes winning a gold medal such an amazing accomplishment," said Krzyzewski in a press release sent to Xinhua after the draw for the competition was conducted in Switzerland.

Defending Olympic champion the United States was drawn into Group A, along with Australia, China, Venezuela and two additional teams that will earn their Olympic berths through qualifying tournaments.

"We know that they'll not only be excellent teams, but they will already be on a roll when they get to the Olympics," Krzyzewski said of his team' s competitors in Group A.

U.S. basketballers will open 2016 Olympic preliminary round play on Aug. 6 facing China.

Argentina, Spain, Brazil, Lithuania, Nigeria and another qualifier will face each other in Group B. The top four teams from each group will move on to the final phase.

According to the latest official FIBA world rankings, Spain, Lithuania and Argentina are ranked second, third and fourth behind the United States.

Krzyzewski led the U.S. to perfect 8-0 records and the gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and is 75-1 since taking charge of USA National Team in 2006.

The 31 finalists for the U.S. Men's Olympic Team include big NBA names such as Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Chris Paul.

In a recent interview with ESPN, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said that he was sticking to his plan to unveil the 12-man roster that will represent the United States at the Rio Olympics in late June. Endit