Basketball at the 1968 Summer Olympics

Last updated
7th Olympic Basketball Tournament
Mexico City 1968
Tournament details
Olympics 1968 Summer Olympics
Host nation Mexico
City Mexico City
DurationOctober 13–25, 1968
Men's tournament
Teams16
Medals
Gold medal icon.svg Gold medalists Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Silver medalistsFlag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia
Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze medalistsFlag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
Tournaments
  Tokyo 1964   Munich 1972  

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.

Contents

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

Gold:Silver:Bronze:
Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)
Mike Barrett
John Clawson
Don Dee
Calvin Fowler
Spencer Haywood
Bill Hosket
Jim King
Glynn Saulters
Mike Silliman
Ken Spain
Jo Jo White
Charlie Scott
Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg  Yugoslavia  (YUG)
Dragutin Čermak
Krešimir Ćosić
Vladimir Cvetković
Ivo Daneu
Radivoj Korać
Zoran Marojević
Nikola Plećaš
Trajko Rajković
Dragoslav Ražnatović
Petar Skansi
Damir Šolman
Aljoša Žorga
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union  (URS)
Anatoli Krikun
Modestas Paulauskas
Zurab Sakandelidze
Vadim Kapranov
Yuri Selikhov
Anatoli Polivoda
Sergei Belov
Priit Tomson
Sergei Kovalenko
Gennadi Volnov
Jaak Lipso
Vladimir Andreev

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 qualificationDateVenueBerthsQualified
Host nation1Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg  Mexico
1964 Olympic Tournament 11–23 October 1964 Flag of Japan.svg Tokyo 5Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
1967 Pan American Games 24 July–2 August 1967 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Winnipeg 2Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama
1967 ABC Championship 23 September – 1 October 1967 Flag of South Korea.svg Seoul 2Flag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg  Philippines
Flag of South Korea (1948-1949).svg  South Korea
FIBA Africa Championship 1968 29 March–2 April 1968 Flag of Morocco.svg Casablanca 2Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
European Pre-Olympic Tournament25 May–3 June 1968 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Geneva 2Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  SFR Yugoslavia
Flag of Bulgaria (1967-1971).svg  Bulgaria
Pan-Continental Pre-Olympic Tournament26 September–2 October 1968 Flag of Mexico.svg Monterrey 2Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain
Total16

Format

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

PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualification
1Flag of the United States.svg  United States 770599392+20714 Semifinals
2Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia 761592511+8113
3Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 752562539+2312 5th–8th classification round
4Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 743557548+911
5Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico 734493468+2510 9th–12th classification round
6Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 725572624529
7Flag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg  Philippines 7165256361118 13th–16th classification round
8Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 7073835651827
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.

October 13

United States  Flag of the United States.svg8146Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain
Italy  Flag of Italy.svg9166Flag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg  Philippines
Puerto Rico  Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg6926Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal
SFR Yugoslavia  Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg9685Flag of Panama.svg  Panama

October 14

United States  Flag of the United States.svg9336Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal
Spain  Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg10879Flag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg  Philippines
Puerto Rico  Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg7293Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  SFR Yugoslavia

Group B

PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualification
1Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 770642408+23414 Semifinals
2Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 761561418+14313
3Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico (H)752493443+5012 5th–8th classification round
4Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 7434735043111
5Flag of Bulgaria (1967-1971).svg  Bulgaria 7344564782210 9th–12th classification round
6Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 725514532189
7Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 716453530778 13th–16th classification round
8Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 7073556342797
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) Host

October 13

Brazil  Flag of Brazil.svg9852Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
Soviet Union  Flag of the Soviet Union.svg9150Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
Mexico  Flag of Mexico.svg7562Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Cuba  Flag of Cuba.svg6170Flag of Bulgaria (1967-1971).svg  Bulgaria

October 14

Soviet Union  Flag of the Soviet Union.svg12351Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
Poland  Flag of Poland.svg7767Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea
Brazil  Flag of Brazil.svg7559Flag of Bulgaria (1967-1971).svg  Bulgaria

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 Flag of the United States.svg  United States 75
B2 Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 63
A1 Flag of the United States.svg  United States 65
A2 Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  SFR Yugoslavia 50
B1 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 62
A2 Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  SFR Yugoslavia 63Bronze medal (October 25)
B2 Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 53
B1 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 70

Classification brackets

5th–8th Place

Semifinals (October 22) 5th place (October 25)
      
A3 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 52
B4 Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 66
B3 Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 65
B4 Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 75
B3 Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 73
A4 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 72 7th place (October 25)
A3 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 72
A4 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 88

9th–12th Place

Semifinals (October 23) 9th place (October 24)
      
A5 Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico 71
B6 Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 65
A5 Flag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico 67
B5 Flag of Bulgaria (1967-1971).svg  Bulgaria 57
B5 Flag of Bulgaria (1967-1971).svg  Bulgaria 83
A6 Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 79 11th place (October 24)
A6 Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 91
B6 Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 88

13th–16th Place

Semifinals (October 23) 13th place (October 24)
      
A7 Flag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg  Philippines 86
B8 Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 57
A7 Flag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg  Philippines 66
B7 Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 63
B7 Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 76
A8 Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 59 15th place (October 24)
B8 Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 38
A8 Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 42

Awards

1968 Olympic Basketball Champions
Flag of the United States.svg
United States
Seventh title

Final standings

RankTeamPldWL
Gold medal icon.svgFlag of the United States.svg  United States 990
Silver medal icon.svgFlag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  SFR Yugoslavia 972
Bronze medal icon.svgFlag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 981
4thFlag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 963
5thFlag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 972
6thFlag of Poland.svg  Poland 954
7thFlag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 954
8thFlag of Italy.svg  Italy 954
9thFlag of Puerto Rico (1952-1995).svg  Puerto Rico 954
10thFlag of Bulgaria (1967-1971).svg  Bulgaria 945
11thFlag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 936
12thFlag of Panama.svg  Panama 927
13thFlag of the Philippines (navy blue).svg  Philippines 936
14thFlag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 927
15thFlag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 918
16thFlag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 909

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References