Basketball at the 1956 Summer Olympics

4th Olympic Basketball Tournament
Melbourne 1956
Tournament details
Olympics	1956 Summer Olympics
Host nation	Australia
City	Melbourne
Duration	November 22 – December 1, 1956
Men's tournament
Teams	15
Medals Gold medalists   United States Silver medalists   Soviet Union Bronze medalists   Uruguay
Tournaments
←  Helsinki 1952   Rome 1960  →

Basketball at the 1956 Summer Olympics was the fourth appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. Fifteen nations, an unusually low number for the basketball tournament, competed in the event, with 174 participants. A total number of 56 games of basketball were played.

The teams were divided into four pools, with four teams in three of the pools and only three in the fourth. Every team played against each other team in its pool once. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the quarterfinals, where again they were split into pools of four. Teams again played every other team in their pool, with the top two in each advancing to the semifinal and the bottom two entering a pool for 5th through 8th places. Eliminated teams also played in consolation matches with the same structure as the quarterfinals and finals, but for 9th through 15th places. The games were held at the Royal Exhibition Building.

Qualified Teams

	Outright qualifier, World Champion
	Outright qualifier, World Runner-up
	Outright qualifier, World Bronze medalists
	Host nation

Teams Participating by Region
Americas	Europe	Asia	Africa	Oceania
United States	Soviet Union	Philippines	No team participated	Australia
Uruguay	France	Japan		—
Brazil	Canada	South Korea
Chile	Bulgaria	Singapore
—	—	Republic of China
		Thailand

Number of Berths Allocated for the Tournament

Region	Automatic	From the previous World Cup	Berth as Host nation	Total
Europe	4	N/A	N/A	4
Americas	2	2		4
Asia	5	1		6
Africa	No team participated			0
Oceania	N/A		1	1
TOTAL	11	3	1	15

Medalists

Gold:	Silver:	Bronze:
United States  (USA) Carl Cain Bill Hougland K.C. Jones Bill Russell James Walsh William Evans Burdette Haldorsson Ronald Tomsic Dick Boushka Gilbert Ford Robert Jeangerard Charles Darling	Soviet Union  (URS) Valdis Muižnieks Maigonis Valdmanis Vladimir Torban Stasys Stonkus Kazys Petkevičius Arkadi Bochkarev Jānis Krūmiņš Mikhail Semyonov Algirdas Lauritenas Yuri Ozerov Viktor Zubkov Mikhail Studenetsky	Uruguay  (URU) Carlos Blixen Ramiro Cortes Héctor Costa Nelson Chelle Nelson Demarco Héctor García Otero Carlos Gonzáles Sergio Matto Oscar Moglia Raúl Mera Ariel Olascoaga Milton Scaron

Participating nations

For the team rosters see: Basketball at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's team rosters .

•   Australia  (12)
•   Brazil  (12)
•   Bulgaria  (11)
•   Canada  (12)
•   Chile  (11)
•   Republic of China  (12)
•   France  (12)
•   Japan  (11)
•   South Korea  (10)
•   Philippines  (12)
•   Singapore  (10)
•   Soviet Union  (12)
•   Thailand  (9)
•   United States  (12)
•   Uruguay  (13)

Preliminary round

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	3	3	0	320	122	+198	6	Quarterfinals
2	Philippines	3	2	1	224	237	−13	5
3	Japan	3	1	2	171	225	−54	4	9th–15th classification round
4	Thailand	3	0	3	134	265	−131	3

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

23 November 13:30

Philippines	94–55	Thailand
Scoring by half:34–24, 60–31

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

23 November

United States	98–40	Japan
Scoring by half:33–20, 65–20

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

24 November

United States	101–29	Thailand
Scoring by half:54–12, 47–17

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

24 November

Japan	61–77	Philippines
Scoring by half: 29–37, 32–40

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

26 November

Thailand	50–70	Japan
Scoring by half: 20–35, 30–35

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

26 November

United States	121–53	Philippines
Scoring by half:66–23, 55–30

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	3	3	0	236	183	+53	6	Quarterfinals
2	Soviet Union	3	2	1	255	177	+78	5
3	Canada	3	1	2	206	234	−28	4	9th–15th classification round
4	Singapore	3	0	3	154	257	−103	3

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

Soviet Union	97–59	Canada
Scoring by half: 46–20, 51–39

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Singapore	54–81	France
Scoring by half: 22–44, 32–37

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Soviet Union	67–76	France
Scoring by half: 18–24, 49–52

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Canada	85–58	Singapore
Scoring by half: 51–30, 34–28

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Soviet Union	91–42	Singapore
Scoring by half: 40–21, 51–21

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

France	79–62	Canada
Scoring by half: 43–35, 36–27

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Uruguay	3	3	0	238	187	+51	6	Quarterfinals
2	Bulgaria	3	2	1	242	199	+43	5
3	Formosa	3	1	2	216	249	−33	4	9th–15th classification round
4	South Korea	3	0	3	194	255	−61	3

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

22 November 20:00

South Korea	76–83	Formosa
Scoring by half: 28–42, 48–41

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

23 November 16:30

Uruguay	70–65	Bulgaria
Scoring by half:38–35, 32–30

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

24 November 10:30

Uruguay	85–62	Formosa
Scoring by half:39–36, 46–26

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

24 November 13:30

Bulgaria	89–58	South Korea
Scoring by half:47–33, 42–25

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

26 November 10:30

Formosa	71–88	Bulgaria
Scoring by half: 35–47, 36–41

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

26 November 16:30

Uruguay	83–60	South Korea
Scoring by half: 35–25, 48–35

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil	2	2	0	167	125	+42	4	Quarterfinals
2	Chile	2	1	1	137	134	+3	3
3	Australia (H)	2	0	2	122	167	−45	2	9th–15th classification round

Source: FIBA archive
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

Chile	59–78	Brazil
Scoring by half: 34–39, 25–39

Brazil	89–66	Australia
Scoring by half: 50–35, 39–31

Chile	78–56	Australia
Scoring by half: 37–27, 41–29

Classification 9–15

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Formosa	3	3	0	218	189	+29	6	9th–12th classification playoffs
2	Australia (H)	3	2	1	258	208	+50	5
3	Singapore	3	1	2	200	215	−15	4	13th–16th classification playoffs
4	Thailand	3	0	3	150	214	−64	3

Source: FIBA archive
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

Singapore	64–67	Formosa
Scoring by half: 23–26, 41–41

Australia	87–48	Thailand
Scoring by half:48–23, 39–25

Thailand	50–62	Singapore
Scoring by half: 26–29, 24–33

Australia	73–86	Formosa
Scoring by half:40–39, 33–47

Formosa	65–52	Thailand
Scoring by half:35–31, 30–21

Australia	98–74	Singapore
Scoring by half:48–36, 50–38

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Canada	2	2	0	147	123	+24	4	9th–12th classification playoffs
2	Japan	2	1	1	143	140	+3	3
3	South Korea	2	0	2	130	157	−27	2	13th–16th classification playoffs

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

South Korea	63–74 (OT)	Canada
Scoring by half: 31–32, 31–30  Overtime: 1–12

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Japan	83–67	South Korea
Scoring by half:36–23, 47–44

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Canada	73–60	Japan
Scoring by half:40–26, 33–34

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Classification 13–15

	Classification Semifinals				13th-place match
	1 December
	Thailand	47
					1 December
	South Korea	61
					South Korea	79
					Singapore	92

• Thailand was named as the final placers of the games because of their loss to the Koreans.

Classification 9–12

	Classification Semifinals				Ninth-place match
	1 December
	Formosa	61
					1 December
	Japan	82
					Japan	60
	1 December
					Canada	75
	Australia	38
	Canada	83
					Eleventh-place match
					1 December
					Formosa	87
					Australia	70

Quarterfinals

	Advance to the semifinals
	Relegated to the 5th-8th classification

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	3	2	1	195	187	+8	5 [a]	Semifinals
2	Uruguay	3	2	1	221	209	+12	5 [a]
3	Chile	3	1	2	221	220	+1	4 [b]	5th–8th classification playoffs
4	Philippines	3	1	2	204	225	−21	4 [b]

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Notes:

1. Head-to-head record: France 1–0 Uruguay
2. Head-to-head record: Chile 1–0 Philippines

France	71–60	Chile
Scoring by half:37–23, 34–37

Uruguay	79–70 (OT)	Philippines
Scoring by half:42–39, 26–29  Overtime:11–2

Uruguay	80–73	Chile
Scoring by half:40–25, 40–48

Philippines	65–58 (OT)	France
Scoring by half:30–26, 25–29  Overtime:10–3

Chile	88–69	Philippines
Scoring by half:42–32, 46–37

Uruguay	62–66	France
Scoring by half: 31–38, 31–28

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	3	3	0	283	150	+133	6	Semifinals
2	Soviet Union	3	2	1	208	209	−1	5
3	Bulgaria	3	1	2	182	224	−42	4	5th–8th classification playoffs
4	Brazil	3	0	3	192	282	−90	3

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

Bulgaria	44–85	United States
Scoring by half: 19–48, 25–37

Brazil	68–87	Soviet Union
Scoring by half: 28–37, 40–50

Bulgaria	56–66	Soviet Union
Scoring by half: 32–37, 24–29

United States	113–51	Brazil
Scoring by half:50–22, 63–29

Soviet Union	55–85	United States
Scoring by half: 32–39, 23–46

Bulgaria	82–73	Brazil
Scoring by half:38–36, 44–37

Classification 5–8

	Classification Semifinals				5th-place game
	Chile	64
	Brazil	89
					Brazil	52
					Bulgaria	64
	Philippines	70
	Bulgaria	80
					7th-place game
					Chile	68
					Philippines	75

Classification Semifinals

30 November 15:00

Boxscore

Chile	64–89	Brazil
Scoring by half: 33–55, 31–34
Pts: Ostoic 13		Pts: dos Santos 27

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

30 November 16:30

Boxscore

Philippines	70–80	Bulgaria
Scoring by half: 43–50, 27–30
Pts: Badion 27		Pts: Radev 21

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Seventh-place match

1 December

Boxscore

Chile	68–75	Philippines
Scoring by half:38–33, 30–42

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Fifth-place match

1 December

Boxscore

Brazil	52–64	Bulgaria
Scoring by half: 26–27, 26–37

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Final round

	Semi-finals				Gold-medal match
	30 November
	(A2)   Uruguay	38
					1 December
	(B1)   United States	101
					(B1)   United States	89
	30 November
					(B2)   Soviet Union	55
	(A1)   France	49
	(B2)   Soviet Union	56
					Bronze-medal match
					1 December
					(A2)   Uruguay	71
					(A1)   France	62

Semifinals

30 November 20:00

Boxscore

France	49–56	Soviet Union
Scoring by half: 19–25, 30–31
Pts: Antoine 12		Pts: Krūmiņš 27

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

30 November 21:30

Boxscore

Uruguay	38–101	United States
Scoring by half: 10–51, 28–50
Pts: Mera, Blixen 8 each		Pts: Tomsic 18

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Bronze-medal match

1 December 20:00

Boxscore

France	62–71	Uruguay
Scoring by half: 29–37, 32–34
Pts: Monclar 16		Pts: Moglia 25

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Final

1 December 21:30

Boxscore

Soviet Union	55–89	United States
Scoring by half: 27–56, 28–33
Pts: Semyonov 15		Pts: Jeangerard 16

Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Awards

1956 Olympic Basketball champions
United States Fourth title

Final rankings

Pos	Team	Record
	United States	8−0
	Soviet Union	5−3
	Uruguay	6−2
4th	France	5−3
5th	Bulgaria	5−3
6th	Brazil	3−4
7th	Philippines	4−4
8th	Chile	2–5
9th	Canada	5–2
10th	Japan	3–4
11th	Formosa	5−3
12th	Australia	2–5
13th	Singapore	2–5
14th	South Korea	1–6
15th	Thailand	0–7

References

• Official Olympic Report