Winning streaks, losing streaks, and record chases: Action-packed start of the Olympic basketball / News - Basketnews.com

Round One of the Tokyo Olympic Basketball Tournament wrapped up on Monday, with all teams having played their first game. Let's recap the most intriguing events from the first six Olympics matches.

73-year losing streak

The tournament kicked off with a game between Iran and the Czech Republic. The last time Iran had won a basketball match at the Olympics was way back in 1948. The Czech Republic made sure their losing streak continued by defeating them 84-78 and earning themselves the country's first-ever victory.

The 33-year-old record under a threat

Another team that made its Olympic debut was Slovenia. They, too, came away with their first-ever Olympic win. But that's not all. Wonderboy Luka Doncic scored a whopping 17 points in the first quarter, 31 in the first half, and ended the game with 48. He tied Eddie Palubinskas at the second place of the Olympics' all-time single-game scoring record list, trailing only legendary Oscar Schmidt, who recorded 55 points in the 1988 Olympics.

Interesting to note that Luka's magic is translating into team victories. Doncic is yet to lose an official game with the Slovenian national team: he is 9-0 in EuroBasket, 4-0 in Qualifying Tournament, and 1-0 in the Olympics.

Pau Gasol's fifth straight Olympic run

The 41-year-old Spanish legend had nine points, four rebounds, and two blocks in Spain's victory over the host Japan. Gasol came back from an injury that kept him out of action for 14 months to compete in his fifth straight Olympics.

"I love the game. I wanted to finish my career playing, didn't want to end on an injury. It was a difficult and challenging injury. But it was worth the effort and worth the risk. The pandemic actually helped me, because if the Games weren't postponed, I wouldn't have made it back from my injury in time to play."

25-win streak snapped

Without a doubt, the biggest surprise from Day 1 was France's win over the USA. The Americans had reinforcements straight from the NBA Finals in Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Devin Booker. It's difficult to argue against the fact that the USA have more talent. However, France have maintained their continuity, which helped them stay in the game for long enough to strike at the end of the fourth quarter and deliver the Americans their first Olympic loss since 2004.

Flag bearer & team carrier

Two other teams that beat the USA this summer - Australia and Nigeria - went at each other in their Olympic opener. After going back and forth in the first half, the Australians showed why they deserved second place at the Olympic rankings. After carrying the flag for Australia, Patty Mills harnessed the Olympic flame and carried his team with 25 points, six assists, four rebounds, and four steals. This summer seems like the perfect time for Australia to snap their international competition dry spell and bring home their first-ever Olympic medals.

Meanwhile, Nigeria still have a chance to become the first African team to advance to the quarter-finals of the Olympics.

Reverse of fortunes

After playing spectacular fourth-quarter basketball during the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Croatia, the Germans got the short end of the stick this time. They held the lead against Italy for most of the game but imploded in the final period, scoring just 10 points against Italy's 24. Germany were held scoreless for the final 4:45 of the game, finishing most possessions with forced, last-second shot attempts.

It was a team effort for Italy, with five players scoring in double-digits and Simone Fontecchio leading the way with 20 points. Italy also benefited massively from the addition of Danilo Gallinari, who added 18 points.

Less than half of referees from Europe

Only eight referees that work during the first six games of the Olympics were Europeans. None of them has worked in the EuroLeague competitions. Recently this is a common practice due to an ongoing disagreement between FIBA and EuroLeague.

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