Basketball On The Internet.

HALL of Famer and the MVP of Australia's gold medal win at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, Penny Taylor, and the USA's Carmelo Anthony overnight helped reveal the groupings for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and the job ahead is a big one for our Opals and Boomers.

The men's final qualifiers are not yet complete, Australia in Group A alongside Canada. The final two teams in the group will come from qualifying series in Greece and Spain, the top side in each qualifying pool advancing to join the Boomers and the Maple Leafs.

The six teams competing for one spot through the qualifiers in Greece are Croatia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Greece, New Zealand, Slovenia.

In Spain, the six battling for that one berth are Angola, Bahamas, Finland, Lebanon, Poland, Spain.

While nothing is set in stone, one could reasonably expect it to be Slovenia and Spain joining the Boomers and Canada. Tough group? Tough luck. Nothing worthwhile was ever easy. But you won't have long to wait for unimaginative media to call it the "Group of Death," sigh, as virtually always.

Group B has France, Germany, Japan and the qualifying national team from the tournament in Latvia which will feature Brazil, Cameroon, Georgia, Latvia, Montenegro, Philippines. Right now, that looks like Latvia. Group of Depth?

Group C is Serbia, South Sudan, USA and a qualifier from Puerto Rico where Bahrain, Cote d'Ivoire, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico and Puerto Rico will battle for supremacy. Lithuania would be favourite to get through.

The qualifiers occur in July while the Olympic men's basketball starts July 27 and closes with the Gold Medal match on August 10.

For perspective, Australia is ranked at #5, Canada #7. Spain is #2 and Slovenia #11.

Already "cut and dried", the women's groupings also are challenging.

Group A: China, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Spain

Group B: Australia, Canada, France, Nigeria

Group C: Belgium, Germany, Japan, USA

Remember it was Canada that the Opals beat for Bronze at the FIBA World Cup and that France, as host nation and already ranked #7 in the world, will be anything but a pushover.

The top two teams after intragroup play and the two best third-placed finishers, advance to the quarter-finals, the four winners then on to the semi finals, with the women's Gold Medal game on Sunday, August 11. 

The Olympic basketball in Paris will be contested at two different venues. The group phases will be played at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, while the knockout rounds will be played at the Bercy Arena in Paris.