On the first day of competition, the four Group A teams were in action. The Republic of Korea and Spain started the tournament, then Serbia and Canada followed.
Spain 73- Korea 69
In a very tight game that saw each quarter being squeaked out by Spain, the Spanish won the game by four points. The Spanish took a slim 16-15 lead in the first quarter. The Koreans pulled away in the second quarter after having gone up 35-33 at the half. In the third quarter, the Spanish retook the lead 54-53. Spain had pulled ahead by 11 points with roughly two minutes left in the game when Korea made their comeback. It remained 73-69 Spain when Spanish guard Silivia Dominguez turned the ball over with 9 seconds to go. Korea’s Leeseul Kang made a jumper with 6 seconds to go but missed and Spain retrieved the defensive rebound and the game was over. Spain’s Astou Ndour scored a game high 28 points. Both teams will play their next games on July 29.
Serbia 72 – Canada 68
Canada was upset in their opening game of the Olympic tournament. Serbia came out strong in the first two quarters leading Canada 36-28. Helped by a pair of seven point halves by Yvonne Anderson and Tina Krajisnik. The Canadians came back at the Serbians in the third quarter with a 17-9 point quarter. The lead disappeared and the game was tied going into the final quarter. Serbia went up by 5 points early in the quarter but Canada evened the score again. It remained tight until the Serbians took a 7 point lead with roughly 3 minutes left in the quarter. They maintained that lead until the end. The final score of the game was 72-68. Canada’s road to the quarterfinals became much more difficult with their opening loss but not impossible.
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