Basketball at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Basketball contests at the 1968 Summer Olympics was the seventh appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. It took place at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City, Mexico from October 13 to October 25, 1968. The United States defeated Yugoslavia to win their seventh consecutive gold medal in this sport, while the Soviet Union earned the bronze against Brazil.
| 7th Olympic Basketball Tournament | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico City 1968 | |||||||||
| Tournament details | |||||||||
| Olympics | 1968 Summer Olympics | ||||||||
| Host nation | Mexico | ||||||||
| City | Mexico City | ||||||||
| Duration | October 13–25, 1968 | ||||||||
| Men's tournament | |||||||||
| Teams | 16 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Tournaments | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Basketball at the 1968 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament | |
| men | |
| Squads | |
| men | |
| Qualification | |
| men | |
The Americans' record of seven basketball gold medals in a row was matched by their women's team in 2021 when they won the 2020 Olympics.
Medal summary
Qualification
Automatic qualifications were granted to the host country and the first five places at the previous tournament. Additional spots were decided by various continental tournaments held by FIBA plus two additional tournaments that granted two extra berths each.
| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Berths | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | 1 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Mexico | ||
| 1964 Olympic Tournament | 11–23 October 1964 |  Tokyo | 5 |  United States |
 Soviet Union | ||||
 Brazil | ||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Puerto Rico | ||||
 Italy | ||||
| 1967 Pan American Games | 24 July–2 August 1967 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Winnipeg | 2 |  Cuba |
 Panama | ||||
| 1967 ABC Championship | 23 September – 1 October 1967 |  Seoul | 2 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Philippines |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} South Korea | ||||
| FIBA Africa Championship 1968 | 29 March–2 April 1968 |  Casablanca | 2 |  Senegal |
| Morocco | ||||
| European Pre-Olympic Tournament | 25 May–3 June 1968 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Geneva | 2 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} SFR Yugoslavia |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Bulgaria | ||||
| Pan-Continental Pre-Olympic Tournament | 26 September–2 October 1968 |  Monterrey | 2 |  Poland |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Spain | ||||
| Total | 16 | |||
Format
- Two groups of eight teams are formed, where the top two from each group compete for the medals in a knockout round.
- The remaining places are defined as follows:
- Fifth through eighth places are decided in a separate bracket between the third and fourth places from each group in a separate bracket.
- Ninth through sixteenth places are decided between the fifth through eighth places from each group in separate brackets.
Squads
For the team rosters see: Basketball at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's team rosters.
Preliminary round
The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, while the remaining teams compete for 5th through 16th places in separate brackets. Both group leaders, the United States and the Soviet Union advanced undefeated to the knockout stage.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States |
7 | 7 | 0 | 599 | 392 | +207 | 14 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Yugoslavia |
7 | 6 | 1 | 592 | 511 | +81 | 13 | |
| 3 | Italy |
7 | 5 | 2 | 562 | 539 | +23 | 12 | 5th–8th classification round |
| 4 | Spain |
7 | 4 | 3 | 557 | 548 | +9 | 11 | |
| 5 | Puerto Rico |
7 | 3 | 4 | 493 | 468 | +25 | 10 | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | Panama |
7 | 2 | 5 | 572 | 624 | −52 | 9 | |
| 7 | Philippines |
7 | 1 | 6 | 525 | 636 | −111 | 8 | 13th–16th classification round |
| 8 | Senegal |
7 | 0 | 7 | 383 | 565 | −182 | 7 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
October 13
October 14
October 15
October 16
October 18
October 19
October 20
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union |
7 | 7 | 0 | 642 | 408 | +234 | 14 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Brazil |
7 | 6 | 1 | 561 | 418 | +143 | 13 | |
| 3 | Mexico (H) |
7 | 5 | 2 | 493 | 443 | +50 | 12 | 5th–8th classification round |
| 4 | Poland |
7 | 4 | 3 | 473 | 504 | −31 | 11 | |
| 5 | Bulgaria |
7 | 3 | 4 | 456 | 478 | −22 | 10 | 9th–12th classification round |
| 6 | Cuba |
7 | 2 | 5 | 514 | 532 | −18 | 9 | |
| 7 | South Korea |
7 | 1 | 6 | 453 | 530 | −77 | 8 | 13th–16th classification round |
| 8 | Morocco |
7 | 0 | 7 | 355 | 634 | −279 | 7 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
(H) Hosts
October 13
October 14
October 15
October 16
October 18
October 19
October 20
Knockout stage
The much anticipated final between the United States and the Soviet Union would have to wait four years. Yugoslavia stunned the Soviets 63–62 in the semifinals. In the championship game the Americans had a slim 32-29 lead at intermission but put the game out of reach with a 22-3 streak to start the second half.
Medal bracket
| Semifinals (October 22)[1] | Gold medal (October 25) | ||||||||
| A1 | United States
| 75 | |||||||
| B2 | Brazil
| 63 | |||||||
| A1 | United States
| 65 | |||||||
| A2 | SFR Yugoslavia
| 50 | |||||||
| B1 | Soviet Union
| 62 | |||||||
| A2 | SFR Yugoslavia
| 63 | Bronze medal (October 25) | ||||||
| B2 | Brazil
| 53 | |||||||
| B1 | Soviet Union
| 70 | |||||||
Classification brackets
5th–8th Place
| Semifinals (October 22) | 5th place (October 25) | ||||||||
| A3 | Italy
| 52 | |||||||
| B4 | Poland
| 66 | |||||||
| B3 | Poland
| 65 | |||||||
| B4 | Mexico
| 75 | |||||||
| B3 | Mexico
| 73 | |||||||
| A4 | Spain
| 72 | 7th place (October 25) | ||||||
| A3 | Italy
| 72 | |||||||
| A4 | Spain
| 88 | |||||||
9th–12th Place
| Semifinals (October 23) | 9th place (October 24) | ||||||||
| A5 | Puerto Rico
| 71 | |||||||
| B6 | Cuba
| 65 | |||||||
| A5 | Puerto Rico
| 67 | |||||||
| B5 | Bulgaria
| 57 | |||||||
| B5 | Bulgaria
| 83 | |||||||
| A6 | Panama
| 79 | 11th place (October 24) | ||||||
| A6 | Cuba
| 91 | |||||||
| B6 | Panama
| 88 | |||||||
13th–16th Place
| Semifinals (October 23) | 13th place (October 24) | ||||||||
| A7 | Philippines
| 86 | |||||||
| B8 | Morocco
| 57 | |||||||
| A7 | Philippines
| 66 | |||||||
| B7 | South Korea
| 63 | |||||||
| B7 | South Korea
| 76 | |||||||
| A8 | Senegal
| 59 | 15th place (October 24) | ||||||
| B8 | Morocco
| 38 | |||||||
| A8 | Senegal
| 42 | |||||||
Awards
| 1968 Olympic Basketball Champions |
|---|
| United States Seventh title |
Final standings
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | United States | 9 | 9 | 0 |
 | SFR Yugoslavia | 9 | 7 | 2 |
 | Soviet Union | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| 4th | Brazil | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| 5th | Mexico | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| 6th | Poland | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| 7th | Spain | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| 8th | Italy | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| 9th | Puerto Rico | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| 10th | Bulgaria | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| 11th | Cuba | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| 12th | Panama | 9 | 2 | 7 |
| 13th | Philippines | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| 14th | South Korea | 9 | 2 | 7 |
| 15th | Senegal | 9 | 1 | 8 |
| 16th | Morocco | 9 | 0 | 9 |
References
- 1968 Semifinals – Ref: El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish)
External links
|
| Tournaments |
| | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifications |
| |||||
| Squads |
| |||||
| 3x3 |
| |||||
| Qualifications |
| |||||
| ||||||
|
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
