Basketball At The 1952 Summer Olympics Article Index for
Basketball At
Website Links For
Basketball
 

Information About

Basketball At The 1952 Summer Olympics




The top six teams at the 1948 Summer Olympics qualified automatically, as did the 1950 World Champion ( Argentina ), the top two at the 1951 Europe an championships ( Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia ), and the host country ( Finland ). Thirteen other nations competed in a preliminary round to determine the last six place places in the sixteen-team Olympic tournament.


MEDALLISTS



FINAL RANKING

# United States
# Soviet Union
# Uruguay
# Argentina
#
# Brazil
# Bulgaria
# France

Places 9-16:

Places 17-23:


RESULTS


Preliminary round

Nations that lost two games in the preliminary tournaments were eliminated. When there were only two teams left in each group, those teams advanced to the main tournament.


Group A

In the first round, Cuba and Bulgaria won.

  • Cuba def. Belgium, 59-51

  • Bulgaria def. Switzerland, 69-58


Cuba and Bulgaria played each other, with Bulgaria's victory winning it a berth in the main tournament. The losers played each other, with Switzerland's second loss ejecting the nation from the tournament.

  • Bulgaria def. Cuba, 62-56

  • Belgium def. Switzerland, 59-49


The two teams that were 1-1 played each, with the winner receiving a tournament berth and the loser being eliminated.

  • Cuba def. Belgium, 71-63



Group B

In the first round, Hungary and the Philippines won.

  • Hungary def. Greece, 75-38

  • Philippines def. Israel, 57-47


Hungary and the Philippines played each other, with the Philippines' victory winning it a berth in the main tournament. The losers played each other, with Israel's second loss ejecting the nation from the tournament.

  • Philippines def. Hungary, 48-35

  • Greece def. Israel, 54-52


The two teams that were 1-1 played each, with the winner receiving a tournament berth and the loser being eliminated.

  • Hungary def. Greece, 47-44



Group C

In the first round, Italy and Turkey were served their first losses.

  • Canada def. Italy, 68-57

  • Egypt def. Turkey, 64-45


Romania's first game was a loss to Canada. Italy and Turkey played each other, with Turkey's second loss eliminating it.

  • Canada def. Romania, 72-51

  • Italy def. Turkey, 49-37


Italy and Romania, who had both lost once, played each other. Romania's second loss eliminated the nation from the tournament. Undefeated nations Canada and Egypt played each other, with Egypt being served its first loss.

  • Italy def. Romania, 53-39

  • Canada def. Egypt, 63-57


Italy played its fourth game of the tournament against Egypt. The decisive game ended with Egypt winning a berth to the main competition and Italy being eliminated.

  • Egypt def. Italy, 66-62



Main tournament

The top two teams in each group advanced to the semifinal round.


Group 1


  • United States def. Hungary, 66-48

  • Uruguay def. Czechoslovakia, 53-51


  • Uruguay def. Hungary, 70-56

  • United States def. Czechoslovakia, 72-47


  • Czechoslovakia def. Hungary, 63-39

  • United States def. Uruguay, 57-44



Group 2


  • Soviet Union def. Bulgaria, 74-46

  • Mexico def. Finland, 66-48


  • Bulgaria def. Mexico, 52-44

  • Soviet Union def. Finland, 47-35


  • Bulgaria def. Finland, 65-64

  • Soviet Union def. Mexico, 71-62



Group 3


  • Argentina def. Philippines, 85-59

  • Brazil def. Canada, 57-55


  • Brazil def. Philippines, 71-52

  • Argentina def. Canada, 82-81


  • Philippines def. Canada, 81-65

  • Argentina def. Brazil, 72-56



Group 4


  • France def. Egypt, 92-64

  • Chile def. Cuba, 53-52


  • Chile def. Egypt, 74-46

  • France def. Cuba, 58-42


  • France def. Chile, 52-43

  • Egypt def. Cuba, 66-55



Semifinals

The top two teams in each semifinal advanced to the semifinals. The other two teams in each semifinal played in the fifth through eighth place classification.


Semifinal group A


  • Argentina def. Bulgaria, 100-56

  • France def. Uruguay, 58-56


  • Uruguay def. Bulgaria, 62-54

  • Argentina def. France, 61-52


  • Bulgaria def. France, 67-58

  • Uruguay def. Argentina, 66-65



Semifinal group B


  • United States def. Soviet Union, 86-58

  • Brazil def. Chile, 75-44


  • United States def. Chile, 103-55

  • Soviet Union def. Brazil, 54-49


  • United States def. Brazil, 57-53

  • Soviet Union def. Chile, 78-60



Classification 5-8

  • Chile def. Bulgaria, 60-53

  • Brazil def. France, 59-44



Classification 7/8

  • Bulgaria def. France, 58-44



Classification 5/6

  • Chile def. Brazil, 58-49



Semifinals

  • Soviet Union def. Uruguay, 61-57

  • United States def. Argentina, 85-76



Bronze medal match

  • Uruguay def. Argentina, 68-59



Final

  • United States def. Soviet Union, 36-25