VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — Victor Wembanyama was lurking. Franz Wagner kept going anyway.
He slashed into the middle of the lane, and then slipped under the swatting arm of the 7-foot-4 phenom for an emphatic left-handed dunk.
It may have been the biggest highlight of Germany’s 85-71 win over France in men’s Olympic basketball on Friday. But asked if that or a later dunk over Isaia Cordinier was his favorite, Wagner paused.
“The second one,” Wagner said. “I don’t know who was there, honestly, but whatever the second one was.”
Not Wembanyama?
“I don’t even remember the first one really,” he said.
Wagner and Dennis Schroder each scored 26 points to help Germany take the matchup of two of the top contenders for the gold medal when the tournament shifts to Paris for the quarterfinals.
Daniel Theis added seven points and eight rebounds to help Germany finish unbeaten atop Group B.
“I think we’re just ready for the moment and enjoy the moment,” Wagner said.
It was France’s first loss of the group stage.
Wembanyama had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the host country, which trailed by 21 at halftime and struggled to deal with Wagner on the inside, and Schroder’s outside shooting and ability to get into the interior of France’s defense.
Germany outscored France 24-9 in the second quarter. France had eight turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
With Wembanyama sitting to start the fourth, France finally found some traction, cutting the deficit to 12. By the time Wembanyama re-entered the game with 4:30 to play, Germany’s lead had ballooned back up to 19.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 20 points and seven rebounds as Greece kept alive its hopes of advancing to next week’s knockout round.
Thomas Walkup added 18 points for Greece. Jock Landale led Australia with 17 points.
“We didn’t want to leave this tournament without getting a win,” Antetokounmpo said. “We felt like we had a very good team to not get the win. And we competed. We fight for all three games. And I think this has been a game that we had to fight for until the end.”
The top two teams in each of the three groups automatically qualify for the quarterfinals. The final two spots in the next round go to the best third-place teams in group play.
Greece entered the day 0-2 in Group A play, needing to beat the Boomers by 10 or more points and for Canada to defeat Spain to ensure advancement to next week’s knockout stage in Paris.
Greece’s six-point victory and Canada’s win over Spain gave Greece a third-place group finish, though advancing isn’t guaranteed. Canada and Australia are moving on from Group A, along with France, Germany and Brazil in Group B and the U.S. in Group C. The final two spots will be determined by what happens Saturday in the Group C matchup between Serbia and South Sudan.
Australia closed to 71-69 with less than three minutes remaining on a pull-up jumper by Patty Mills.
Mills drew an offensive foul on Antetokounmpo, but Australia turned it over on its next possession.
Antetokounmpo found Vasilis Toliopoulos, who knocked down a 3-pointer to put Greece back up by five. The lead grew to 77-70 on a 3 by Walkup with 1:04 left.
Dyson Daniels of Australia had to go to the locker room for treatment in the second quarter after an awkward slip on the court. But he was able to return late in the period.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points and hit two free throws in the final seconds to help Canada beat Spain and win Group A.
Andrew Nembhard added 18 points. Canada now waits to see which team it will face in the knockout round next week.
Dario Brizuela had 17 points for Spain, which was eliminated by virtue of Greece’s win over Australia and a 1-2 finish in group play. It’s an early exit for Spain, which last earned an Olympic medal with a bronze at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
Sergio Llull finished with 13 points.
Canada led by 14 points in the third quarter before Spain cut it to three early in the fourth.
It stayed tight the rest of the way.
Spain trailed 82-79 with less than a minute to play when Alex Abrines was fouled and went to the free-throw line. But he made only one of his two attempts.
Canada rebounded and RJ Barrett got the ball for a corner 3 to make it 85-80.
Jaime Pradilla scored quicky on a driving layup for Spain and Gilgeous-Alexander was fouled. He made one free throw, and Llull hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 86-85 with 3.1 seconds left.
Gilgeous-Alexander was then fouled and went to the free-throw line a final time.
Bruno Caboclo had 33 points and 17 rebounds, sending Brazil to the victory. And by finishing with a better point differential than Greece, Brazil is assured of going to the quarterfinals as one of the best two third-place finishers.
Vitor Benite added 19 points for Brazil, which finished third in Group B behind France and Germany.
Foul trouble limited Caboclo in Brazil’s previous losses to France and Germany. He went scoreless against France and had just six points in 12 minutes of action against Germany before fouling out. He stayed on the court this time and made his presence felt.
“This is the biggest stage of basketball,” said the 28-year-old Caboclo, who played seven NBA seasons for Toronto, Sacramento, Memphis and Houston from 2014 to 2021. “The international team I think is bigger than NBA. The Olympics is the biggest in the world. Every athlete wants to be here at least one time. We were able to accomplish that. Hopefully we can go to the quarterfinals.”
Caboclo didn’t know it at the time — Brazil is indeed moving on.
Josh Hawkinson led Japan with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Yuki Kawamura finished with 21 points and 10 assists.
Japan played without top scorer Rui Hachimura. Japan’s basketball federation said before the game that Hachimura had left France after sustaining a left calf injury during its overtime loss to France.
Japan lost all three of its games in pool play and was eliminated.
It was a battle of the big men, with Caboclo and Hawkinson trading baskets throughout.
Caboclo scored 15 of Brazil’s first 31 points, helping it build a 16-point lead in the third quarter. But Japan rallied and got back within 77-73 entering the fourth.
Brazil closed the game on a 22-4 run.
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
