GROUP INTRO

There are no easy groups or easy games in Olympic basketball, and the world will be reminded of that when Group A tips off on Sunday. Group A is comprised of four very interesting sides, with Puerto Rico eyeing up their first-ever Olympic victory, whilst China, Spain, and Serbia will surely be expecting to be competing for medals by the 11th of August. Get to know the teams that comprise Group A, some of their star players, their Olympic heritage, and the paths they took to Paris 2024 with the FocusHoops’ Group A Preview.

GAME TO WATCH

You can’t go wrong with any of the contests in this group, but the game we can’t wait for is the clash of two of the dominant European sides of the last decade between Spain and Serbia. They meet each other in the final round of group games at 13.30 (CEST) on 3/8/2024.

Team Previews

China

Team Biography

A regional powerhouse, the number two ranked team in the world and 2022 World Cup Silver medalists, enter the 2024 Olympics in mixed form. They finished second in the Olympic Qualifying tournament they hosted, with a 2-1 record, losing only to France and handily beating Puerto Rico, with whom they’ll face off this week. 

China enters with a roster almost entirely comprised of local players from the highly touted WCBA, including several players from the reigning champions, Sichuan Yuanda. Their familiarity with one another will surely benefit them. Serbia eliminated China in the quarter-finals in Tokyo, but China could get a level of revenge as they’ll meet in pool play. 

Roster list

Pos.	No.	Name	Age	Height	Club
G	4	Li Yuan	24	5 ft 7 in	Inner Mongolia Nongxin
G	5	Wang Siyu	28	5 ft 11 in	Sichuan Jinqiang Chengdu
G	6	Wu Tongtong	30	5 ft 9 in	Shanxi Flame
PG	7	Yang Liwei (C)	29	5 ft 9 in	Guangdong Vermilion Birds
F	8	Yang Shuyu	22	5 ft 11 in	Guangdong Vermilion Birds
SG	9	Li Meng	29	6 ft 0 in	Sichuan Jinqiang Chengdu
F	10	Zhang Ru	24	6 ft 1 in	Inner Mongolia Nongxin
PF	11	Huang Sijing	28	6 ft 3 in	Guangdong Vermilion Birds
F	12	Luo Xinyu	22	6 ft 2 in	Jiangsu Phoenix
C	13	Sun Mengran	32	6 ft 6 in	Inner Mongolia Nongxin
C	14	Li Yueru	25	6 ft 7 in	La Sparks (USA)
C	15	Han Xu	24	6 ft 9 in	Sichuan Jinqiang Chengdu

Head Coach: Zheng Wei

Olympic History

10th Olympic Games appearance

Silver in 1992

Bronze in 1984

5th in 2020

Pathway to Paris: 

China booked their ticket to the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which they hosted in Xi’an, thanks to their victory in the 2023 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Australia. China took the gold, thanks in no small part to Han Xu averaging a 22-11.8 double-double and Li Meng averaging 14.4 ppg and 4.8 assists per game. Han bagged 25 points in a tense final, as China overcame a nine-point deficit to overcome Japan 73-71. 

In the Olympic Qualifying Tournament China easily dealt with New Zealand 94-47 but fell to France 50-82. In their final game against Group A-mates Puerto Rico, they came out on top 105-69 with Li Yueru leading the way with 22 points and 23 boards whilst Li Meng led the scoring charts with 23 points. 

China has struggled in their tune-up games heading to Paris, including losing a series with Australia 2-1 and recent losses to Belgium and France. 

Key players

Li Yueru, Li Meng and Han Xu are three leading lights on a very talented roster. 

Li Yueru averaged 15 points and 14 rebounds in the Olympic Qualifying tournament and dominated with a 22-23 performance against Puerto Rico in their final match-up. The LA Spark has been contributing in her WNBA return, featuring in 22 games already for the Hollywood club.

Li Meng was voted as the Domestic League MVP by Asia-Basket.com for the eventual champions Sichuan and averaged just shy of 20 points per game for China in their Olympic Qualifiers. 

Han Xu is a two-time WCBA league MVP and has been a major force in China’s recent success at both the World and Asia Cups. Han Xu featured 39 times for Sichuan this season averaging 16 points per game while sharing the bigs duties with Liz Cambage. Han Xu had two 23-point outings in the finals series with Inner Mongolia. 

Schedule (all times local)

28.7.2024 (13.30) vs Spain 

31.7.2024 (13.30) vs Serbia

3.8.2024 (11.00) vs Puerto Rico

Trivia

In 1992 China made the final only to lose by 10 points to the Unified Team, this was just the second time that the USA did not win an Olympic Basketball tournament that they entered. Only three players featured in China’s Bronze and Silver medal-winning sides; Liu Qing, Zheng Haixia and Cong Xuedi.

Reason to Root for

A talented roster, comprised almost entirely of domestic-based players, is always an exciting proposition! It has been 32 years since they tasted Olympic success; it will be interesting to see if they translate regional dominance into Olympic glory!

Puerto Rico

Team Biography

Entering just their second Olympics, Puerto Rico has enjoyed a run of being one of the top sides in the Americas. A strong competitor in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup, Puerto Rico has finished in the top four in each of the last four editions (biennial competition) and made the quarter-finals at the 2022 World Cup, having first qualified for the competition in 2018. 

Puerto Rico were forced to qualify for the Olympics through both the Olympic Qualifying Tournament and a Pre-Qualifying Tournament, so have plenty of recent competitive experience under their belts. With an exciting roster headlined by CB Avenida’s Arella Guirantes, they could well be a fan favourite in Group A and will be looking to take revenge on China for their defeat in the Olympic Qualifiers. 

Roster List

Pos.	No.	Name	Age	HT	Club
PG	22	Arella Guirantes	26	5’11”	CB Avenida (ESP)
PF	21	Mya Hollingshed	24	6’4″	Dinamo Sassari (ITA)
PG	5	Pamela Rosado (C)	38	5’5″	Montañeras de Morovis
G	1	Tayra Meléndez	30	6’0″	Gigantes de Carolina
PG	23	Trinity San Antonio	20	5’9″	Grand Canyon Antelopes (USA)
F	2	Brianna Jones	27	5’10”	Tianjin Guanlan (CHI)
C	33	India Pagán	25	6’2″	SBŠ Ostrava (CZE)
PF	25	Isalys Quiñones	26	6’3″	Explosivas de Moca
PF	11	Sofía Roma	27	6’2″	Montañeras de Morovis
G	55	Jacqueline Benítez	27	5’1″	Osos de Manatí
G	99	Ahlana Smith	23	5’9″	GDESSA-Barreiro (POR)
F	7	Mariah Pérez	23	6’3″	Dayton Flyers (USA)
G/F	9	Allison Gibson	31	5’11”	Santeros de Aguada

Head Coach: Jerry Batista

Olympic History

First Appearance: 2020 – 12th

Lost to China, Belgium and Australia in the group stage. 

Pathway to Paris: 

Having placed fourth in the 2023 FIBA Women’s Americup, losing the Bronze Medal match to Canada, Puerto Rico travelled to Medellin, Colombia, for a three-game round-robin Per-Qualfying Olympic Qualifying Tournament. 

Puerto Rico edged past the hosts in their opening game, narrowly holding on down the stretch and being carried by a monstrous 39-point display from Guirantes before more comfortably dispatching Venezuela 65-57. They met their AmeriCup foes in Canada in the final pre-qualifier. However, despite another strong outing from Guirantes (22 points), Puerto Rico fell to Canada but still advanced to the Olympic Qualifiers (OQT). 

Puerto Rico travelled to China for the OQT and fell 40-88 to European powerhouse France but punched their ticket with a 69-76 victory over New Zealand. Mya Hollingshed led the way in both scoring and rebounding, finishing with 20-14 and four blocks. Puerto Rico entered the final period trailing but had enough to overcome a spirited New Zealand outfit. 

Puerto Rico fell to China in their final game 105-69, with Guirantes showing out once more with 27 points, but their win over New Zealand and New Zealand’s loss to France confirmed their passage to Paris. 

Puerto Rico has had mixed results in their Pre-Olympic Friendlies, with a regulation loss to Poland. Still, they did take Germany to OT before eventually falling 73-70 but took a six-point OT win over Portugal. 

Key player

Arella Guirantes, Mya Hollingshed, and Brianna Jones are some standouts that Puerto Rico will depend on for success in Paris. 

Arella Guirantes will play her professional basketball in Spain for Perfumerias Avenida Salamanca, one of the top sides in European hoops, next season. She recently signed after a successful season in Italy for Beretta Familia Schio. Guirantes averaged 15.2 points per game in the FIBA EuroLeague Women and 15 points per game in the OQT in China. 

Mya Hollingshed averaged 12.2 points and nearly eight rebounds per game in FIBA EuroCup Women for BDS Dinamo Sassari this season. She averaged 10 points per game in competitive action for her country. Hollingshed was a key contributor all season for Dinamo as they made the Italian playoffs. 

Brianna Jones’s importance for Puerto Rico has grown in the recent OQT in China, where she averaged 6.3 points per game to go with 1.7 assists. Jones was a starter in China for her club side, Tinjian Ronggang, averaging 14.9 points per game, second only to Li Zhijun. 

Schedule (all times local)

28.7.2024 (21.00) vs Serbia

31.7.2024 (11.00) vs Spain

3.8.2024 (11.00) vs China

Trivia

Puerto Rico and China have faced off in the last Olympics, Olympic Qualifier Tournament, and World Cup, with China carrying a 3-0 record in these match-ups. Puerto Rico recorded their first-ever World Cup victory in the first game of their second tournament, with a dominant win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Is that a good omen for their debut with Serbia?

Reason to Root for

Puerto Rico enters just their second Olympics, searching for their first-ever win and seeking revenge on China from the OQT and the previous Olympics. Can they do it?

Spain

Team Biography

2016 Olympic Silver medalists and 2023 EuroBasket runner-ups Spain are continuing their redemption arc from not making the 2022 World Cup (having finished 7th in the 2021 EuroBasket they co-hosted). Spain are one of the most powerful sides in World Basketball, with three EuroBasket gold medals and one silver in the last ten years and medalling at three of the last four FIBA World Cups. 

Spain clinched their place in Paris, winning a tough group in Hungary with a 2-1 record, with former London Lion Megan Gustafson leading the way with 14.3 points per game.  

Roster List

Pos.	No.	Name	Age	Height	Club
SF	7	Alba Torrens	34	6 ft 4 in	Valencia Basket
C	17	Megan Gustafson	27	6 ft 3 in	Las Vegas Aces (USA)
PF	6	Laura Gil	32	6 ft 3 in	CB Avenida
C	20	Paula Ginzo	26	6 ft 2 in	CB Jairis
SF	22	María Conde	27	6 ft 1 in	USK Praha (CZE)
PF	8	María Araújo	26	6 ft 0 in	Çukurova Basketbol (TUR)
PG	4	Mariona Ortiz	32	6 ft 0 in	Basket Zaragoza
SF	9	Queralt Casas	31	5 ft 11 in	Valencia Basket
SG	11	Leonor Rodríguez	32	5 ft 11 in	CB Avenida
F	13	Andrea Vilaró	31	5 ft 10 in	CB Avenida
PG	12	Maite Cazorla	27	5 ft 10 in	USK Praha (CZE)
PG	10	Leticia Romero	29	5 ft 8 in	Valencia Basket

Head Coach: Miguel Méndez

Olympic History

6th Olympics

Silver in 2016

6th in 2020

Pathway to Paris: 

Spain ensured their place in the OQT thanks to their second-place finish in the 2023 EuroBasket Women, where they fell in the finals to a rampaging Belgium. 

Spain travelled to Sopron, Hungary, for their OQT and was placed in a tough group with Japan, Canada, and Hungary. Spain was bolstered with the debut of the newly naturalised Megan Gustafson. Spain lost its first game to the 2021 Olympic Finalists, Japan, 75-86. The talented youngster Raquel Carrera was the Spanish standout with 19 points and 7 rebounds in the loss. 

Spain faced Canada in their second game, taking a five-point win, with Gustafson leading her side with 16 points. Spain entered a winner-takes-all contest with hosts Hungary for the final qualifying spot in the group. Spain was staring elimination in the face after a rough second period but rallied back with a 46-point second half and edged out Hungary 73-72, led in scoring by Maria Conde’s 16-point outing.

Spain’s results in the run-up to Paris were slightly mixed. They finished with a pair of wins over Canada and a loss to Australia sandwiched between them. 

Key player

Spain is without their young star Raquel Carrera, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the Spanish Playoff Quarter-Finals, but they are still loaded with talent who will step up when called upon. 

FIBA EuroCup Women’s Champion Megan Gustafson has started her international career with Spain like a house on fire, averaging 14.3 points per game in her three outings in the OQT. The Las Vegas Aces star will be no stranger to British and European audiences as she was a key figure in the London Lions’ dominating the WBBL competitions and clinching a British side’s first-ever Continental Championship. 

Maria Conde had some big moments as Spain’s Sixth-Ranked Woman in the OQT, including her huge 16-point performance in the must-win victory over Hungary. Conde finished her second season with USK Praha in Czechia and Euroleague, where she averaged 11.8 and 8.9 points per game in the respective competitions. 

Avenida’s Laura Gil has been an ever-present for Spain for over a decade and has averaged 12.5 points per game in Spain’s first two FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualifiers. Whilst Gil’s points output was lower than you may expect from such an important figure as Gil, she was a force on the glass and averaged 3.3 dimes per game. Gil continues to be an important piece of Spain’s greatest generation.  

Schedule (all times local)

28.7.2024 (13.30) vs China

31.7.2024 (11.00) vs Puerto Rico

3.8.2024 (13.30) vs Serbia

Trivia

Spain was coached by former GB Women’s Head Coach Chema Buceta to fifth place in their debut Olympics in 1992. Despite becoming a European basketball power, it would be 12 years before Spain competed in their next Olympics. 

Reason to Root for

For London Lions or even WBBL fans, Megan Gustafson will certainly be a reason to root for Spain, beyond that the story of a side dealing with the loss of one of their top young talents through injury. 

Serbia

Team Biography

Serbia’s two Olympic Basketball appearances have brought incredible success as they have spent the last ten years as one of the top sides in Europe. Serbia boasts two FIBA EuroBasket Women titles and two top-four finishes at the Olympics, including Bronze in their first appearance in 2016. Serbia came through a brutal qualifying tournament in Belem, Brazil, a single victory enough to take them to Paris. 

With a Roster featuring key players entering the twilight of their careers and talented youngsters Serbia are an intriguing proposition at this year’s Olympics. 

Roster List

Roster
Pos.	No.	Name	Age	HT	Club
PF	1	Ivana Raca	24	6 ft 2 in	Dinamo Sassari (ITA)
SG	6	Saša Čađo	35	5 ft 10 in	CCC Polkowice (POL)
SG	8	Nevena Jovanović	34	5 ft 10 in	Nika Syktyvkar (RUS)
PG	12	Yvonne Anderson	34	5 ft 9 in	Fenerbahçe (TUR)
C	14	Dragana Stanković	29	6 ft 5 in	Reyer Venezia (ITA)
SF	17	Jovana Nogić	26	5 ft 11 in	Beşiktaş (TUR)
SF	25	Maša Janković	24	6 ft 2 in	CB Avenida (ESP)
PG	30	Aleksandra Katanić	27	5 ft 8 in	Ormanspor (TUR)
PF	32	Angela Dugalić	22	6 ft 4 in	UCLA Bruins (USA)
C	33	Tina Krajišnik (C)	33	6 ft 3 in	UMMC Ekaterinburg (RUS)
PF	51	Mina Đorđević	25	6 ft 1 in	Emlak Konut SK (TUR)
G	66	Nadija Smailbegović	23	5 ft 10 in	PEAC-Pécs (HUN)

Head Coach: Marina Maljković

Olympic History

3rd Olympic Games appearance

Bronze in 2016

4th in 2020

Pathway to Paris: 

Serbia’s route to Paris was a tough one, starting at the 2023 EuroBasket Women competition. After Serbia narrowly defeated GB in the Quater-Final Qualification round, they were handily beaten by the eventual champions Belgium in the next round. This sent them into a classification game to qualify for the OQT against their neighbours Montenegro, which they won by five points, off the back of Yvonne Anderson bagging 23 points. Serbia beat Germany by four 16 points in the Fifth Place Game, and once again, Anderson led her side in scoring with 16 points. 

Serbia were drawn with Australia, Germany and hosts Brazil for the Belem OQT. In their opening game, they were paired with Germany, who got revenge for their EuroBasket defeat, clinching a 66-73 win over Serbia. Serbia played the hosts in their second outing, and thanks to  30 points and eight boards outing from Yvonne Anderson, they won  72-65 to clinch their path to Paris. In the final game, they fell to a 73-75 loss against Australia in a tense contest. Anderson led the way with 20 points. 

Serbia won over China and Nigeria in their warm-up matches but lost heavily to Belgium and France. 

Key player

Yvonne Anderson, Dragana Stankovic, and Angela Dugalic are just three of the players Serbia will depend on for success this summer. 

Yvonne Anderson needs little introduction; one of the stars of domestic and international European basketball, the naturalised point guard, has played all over the world and currently plays for one of the best teams in the world in Fenerbahce. In the OQTs, Anderson averaged 19.3 points per game, shooting nearly 60% from the floor, without scoring a single three-pointer. At 34 years of age it might be Anderson’s last shot at Olympic glory. 

Reyer Venezia’s newest addition, Dragana Stankovic, averaged 14 points per game on 56% shooting from the field in the OQTs for Serbia to help them qualify for Paris. The Center from Serbia’s capital city averaged almost 10 points per game in FIBA EuroLeague Women for BC Polkowice, earning her the move to one of Italy’s top sides. 

UCLA star Angela Dugalic averaged seven points per game and was Serbia’s second-leading rebounder with 6 boards per game in Brazil. The 22 year-old has one more season of college eligibility and is set to have a brilliant pro career and will be keen to add Olympic success to her 2021 EuroBasket gold medal. Dugalic helped UCLA make the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament this season, averaging a career-high 8.7 points and 6.5 boards per game. 

Schedule (all times local)

28.7.2024 (21.00) vs Puerto Rico 

31.7.2024 (13.30) vs China

3.8.2024 (13.30) vs Spain

Trivia

Despite carrying the lineage of the FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia’s golden era of basketball success has been since 2007 following Montenegrin independence. Serbia’s Head Coach, Marina Maljković, first picked up the clipboard at age 16 and first took the reins of the national team when she was just 29 years old. At 42, Maljković is incredibly young in coaching terms, with 20 years of experience and a trophy cabinet that many coaches would envy. 

Reason to Root for

Serbia has been one of the most entertaining sides in Europe for parts of the last decade, and with Yvonne Anderson possibly making her final Olympic roster, who would deny them a shot at glory?