Basketball at the 1956 Summer Olympics was the fourth appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. Fifteen nations, an unusually low number for the basketball tournament, competed in the event, with 174 participants. A total number of 56 games of basketball were played.
4th Olympic Basketball Tournament | |||||||||
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Melbourne 1956 | |||||||||
Tournament details | |||||||||
Olympics | 1956 Summer Olympics | ||||||||
Host nation | Australia | ||||||||
City | Melbourne | ||||||||
Duration | November 22 – December 1 | ||||||||
Men's tournament | |||||||||
Teams | 15 | ||||||||
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Tournaments | |||||||||
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The teams were divided into four pools, with four teams in three of the pools and only three in the fourth. Every team played against each other team in its pool once. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the quarterfinals, where again they were split into pools of four. Teams again played every other team in their pool, with the top two in each advancing to the semifinal and the bottom two entering a pool for 5th through 8th places. Eliminated teams also played in consolation matches with the same structure as the quarterfinals and finals, but for 9th through 15th places. The games were held at the Royal Exhibition Building.
Qualified Teams edit
Outright qualifier, World Champion | |
Outright qualifier, World Runner-up | |
Outright qualifier, World Bronze medalists | |
Host nation |
Teams Participating by Region | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Americas | Europe | Asia | Africa | Oceania |
United States | Soviet Union | Philippines | No team participated | Australia |
Uruguay | France | Japan | — | |
Brazil | Canada | South Korea | ||
Chile | Bulgaria | Singapore | ||
— | — | Republic of China | ||
Thailand |
Region | Automatic | From the previous World Cup |
Berth as Host nation |
Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Europe | 4 | N/A | N/A | 4 |
Americas | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
Asia | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
Africa | No team participated | 0 | ||
Oceania | N/A | 1 | 1 | |
TOTAL | 11 | 3 | 1 | 15 |
Medalists edit
Squads edit
For the team rosters see: Basketball at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's team rosters.
Preliminary round edit
Group A edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 320 | 122 | +198 | 6 | Quarterfinals |
2 | Philippines | 3 | 2 | 1 | 224 | 237 | −13 | 5 | |
3 | Japan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 171 | 225 | −54 | 4 | 9th–15th classification round |
4 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 3 | 134 | 265 | −131 | 3 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Group B edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | France | 3 | 3 | 0 | 236 | 183 | +53 | 6 | Quarterfinals |
2 | Soviet Union | 3 | 2 | 1 | 255 | 177 | +78 | 5 | |
3 | Canada | 3 | 1 | 2 | 206 | 234 | −28 | 4 | 9th–15th classification round |
4 | Singapore | 3 | 0 | 3 | 154 | 257 | −103 | 3 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Group C edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Uruguay | 3 | 3 | 0 | 238 | 187 | +51 | 6 | Quarterfinals |
2 | Bulgaria | 3 | 2 | 1 | 242 | 199 | +43 | 5 | |
3 | Formosa | 3 | 1 | 2 | 216 | 249 | −33 | 4 | 9th–15th classification round |
4 | South Korea | 3 | 0 | 3 | 194 | 255 | −61 | 3 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Group D edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brazil | 2 | 2 | 0 | 167 | 125 | +42 | 4 | Quarterfinals |
2 | Chile | 2 | 1 | 1 | 137 | 134 | +3 | 3 | |
3 | Australia (H) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 122 | 167 | −45 | 2 | 9th–15th classification round |
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) Hosts
Classification 9–15 edit
Group 1 edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Formosa | 3 | 3 | 0 | 218 | 189 | +29 | 6 | 9th–12th classification playoffs |
2 | Australia (H) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 258 | 208 | +50 | 5 | |
3 | Singapore | 3 | 1 | 2 | 200 | 215 | −15 | 4 | 13th–16th classification playoffs |
4 | Thailand | 3 | 0 | 3 | 150 | 214 | −64 | 3 |
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) Hosts
Group 2 edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Canada | 2 | 2 | 0 | 147 | 123 | +24 | 4 | 9th–12th classification playoffs |
2 | Japan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 143 | 140 | +3 | 3 | |
3 | South Korea | 2 | 0 | 2 | 130 | 157 | −27 | 2 | 13th–16th classification playoffs |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Classification 13–15 edit
Classification Semifinals | 13th-place match | |||||
1 December | ||||||
Thailand | 47 | |||||
1 December | ||||||
South Korea | 61 | |||||
South Korea | 79 | |||||
Singapore | 92 | |||||
- Thailand was named as the final placers of the games because of their loss to the Koreans.
Classification 9–12 edit
Classification Semifinals | Ninth-place match | |||||
1 December | ||||||
Formosa | 61 | |||||
1 December | ||||||
Japan | 82 | |||||
Japan | 60 | |||||
1 December | ||||||
Canada | 75 | |||||
Australia | 38 | |||||
Canada | 83 | |||||
Eleventh-place match | ||||||
1 December | ||||||
Formosa | 87 | |||||
Australia | 70 |
Quarterfinals edit
Advance to the semifinals | |
Relegated to the 5th-8th classification |
Group A edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | France | 3 | 2 | 1 | 195 | 187 | +8 | 5[a] | Semifinals |
2 | Uruguay | 3 | 2 | 1 | 221 | 209 | +12 | 5[a] | |
3 | Chile | 3 | 1 | 2 | 221 | 220 | +1 | 4[b] | 5th–8th classification playoffs |
4 | Philippines | 3 | 1 | 2 | 204 | 225 | −21 | 4[b] |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Notes:
Group B edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 283 | 150 | +133 | 6 | Semifinals |
2 | Soviet Union | 3 | 2 | 1 | 208 | 209 | −1 | 5 | |
3 | Bulgaria | 3 | 1 | 2 | 182 | 224 | −42 | 4 | 5th–8th classification playoffs |
4 | Brazil | 3 | 0 | 3 | 192 | 282 | −90 | 3 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Classification 5–8 edit
Classification Semifinals | 5th-place game | |||||
Chile | 64 | |||||
Brazil | 89 | |||||
Brazil | 52 | |||||
Bulgaria | 64 | |||||
Philippines | 70 | |||||
Bulgaria | 80 | |||||
7th-place game | ||||||
Chile | 68 | |||||
Philippines | 75 |
Classification Semifinals edit
30 November
15:00 |
Chile | 64–89 | Brazil |
Scoring by half: 33–55, 31–34 | ||
Pts: Ostoic 13 | Pts: dos Santos 27 |
30 November
16:30 |
Philippines | 70–80 | Bulgaria |
Scoring by half: 43–50, 27–30 | ||
Pts: Badion 27 | Pts: Radev 21 |
Seventh-place match edit
Fifth-place match edit
Final round edit
Semi-finals | Gold-medal match | |||||
30 November | ||||||
(A2) Uruguay | 38 | |||||
1 December | ||||||
(B1) United States | 101 | |||||
(B1) United States | 89 | |||||
30 November | ||||||
(B2) Soviet Union | 55 | |||||
(A1) France | 49 | |||||
(B2) Soviet Union | 56 | |||||
Bronze-medal match | ||||||
1 December | ||||||
(A2) Uruguay | 71 | |||||
(A1) France | 62 |
Semifinals edit
30 November
20:00 |
France | 49–56 | Soviet Union |
Scoring by half: 19–25, 30–31 | ||
Pts: Antoine 12 | Pts: Krūmiņš 27 |
30 November
21:30 |
Uruguay | 38–101 | United States |
Scoring by half: 10–51, 28–50 | ||
Pts: Mera, Blixen 8 each | Pts: Tomsic 18 |
Bronze-medal match edit
Final edit
1 December
21:30 |
Soviet Union | 55–89 | United States |
Scoring by half: 27–56, 28–33 | ||
Pts: Semyonov 15 | Pts: Jeangerard 16 |
Awards edit
1956 Olympic Basketball champions |
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United States Fourth title |
Final rankings edit
Pos | Team | Record |
---|---|---|
United States | 8−0 | |
Soviet Union | 5−3 | |
Uruguay | 6−2 | |
4th | France | 5−3 |
5th | Bulgaria | 5−3 |
6th | Brazil | 3−4 |
7th | Philippines | 4−4 |
8th | Chile | 2–5 |
9th | Canada | 5–2 |
10th | Japan | 3–4 |
11th | Formosa | 5−3 |
12th | Australia | 2–5 |
13th | Singapore | 2–5 |
14th | South Korea | 1–6 |
15th | Thailand | 0–7 |