| 3rd Olympic Basketball Tournament | |||||||||
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| Helsinki 1952 | |||||||||
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| Tournament details | |||||||||
| Olympics | 1952 Summer Olympics | ||||||||
| Host nation | Finland | ||||||||
| City | Helsinki | ||||||||
| Duration | July 13 – August 2, 1952 | ||||||||
| Men's tournament | |||||||||
| Teams | 23 | ||||||||
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| Tournaments | |||||||||
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| Basketball at the 1952 Summer Olympics | |
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| Tournament | |
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| Squads | |
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Basketball at the1952 Summer Olympics was the third appearance of the sport ofbasketball as an official Olympic medal event. 23 nations entered the competition.
The top six teams at the1948 Summer Olympics qualified automatically, as did the winners of the1950 FIBA World Championship (Argentina), the top two teams at the1951 EuroBasket (USSR andCzechoslovakia), and the host country (Finland). Thirteen other nations competed in a qualifying round to determine the last six places in the sixteen-team Olympic tournament.
Nations that lost two games in the qualifying rounds were eliminated. When there were only two teams left in each group, those teams advanced to the main tournament.
Group A consisted of Cuba, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Switzerland.
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Qualified | ||||||||
 Cuba | 59 | |||||||||
 Belgium | 51 | |||||||||
| Cuba | 56 | |||||||||
 Bulgaria | ||||||||||
| Bulgaria | 62 | |||||||||
| Bulgaria | 69 | |||||||||
 Switzerland | 58 | |||||||||
| Elimination Match | Decider Match | |||||||||
| Cuba | 71 | |||||||||
| Cuba | ||||||||||
| Belgium | 59 | Belgium | 63 | |||||||
| Switzerland | 49 | |||||||||
Group B consisted of Hungary, Greece, Israel, and the Philippines.
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Qualified | ||||||||
 Hungary | 75 | |||||||||
 Greece | 38 | |||||||||
| Hungary | 35 | |||||||||
 Philippines | ||||||||||
| Philippines | 48 | |||||||||
| Philippines | 57 | |||||||||
 Israel | 47 | |||||||||
| Elimination Match | Decider Match | |||||||||
| Hungary | 47 | |||||||||
| Hungary | ||||||||||
| Greece | 54 | Greece | 44 | |||||||
| Israel | 52 | |||||||||
Group C consisted of Canada, Italy, Turkey, Romania, and Egypt.
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Qualified | |||||||||||
 Romania | 51 | |||||||||||||
 Canada | 68 | Canada | 72 | |||||||||||
 Italy | 57 | Canada | 63 | |||||||||||
 Egypt | 57 | |||||||||||||
| Egypt | 64 | |||||||||||||
 Turkey | 45 | |||||||||||||
| Canada | ||||||||||||||
| Egypt | ||||||||||||||
| Elimination Round 1 | Elimination Round 2 | Decider Match | ||||||||||||
| Egypt | 66 | |||||||||||||
| Romania | 39 | Italy | 62 | |||||||||||
| Italy | 49 | Italy | 53 | |||||||||||
| Turkey | 37 | |||||||||||||
Bye: Romania
Romania's first game was a loss to Canada. Italy and Turkey played each other, with Turkey's second loss eliminating them.
Bye: Egypt
Italy and Romania, who had both lost once, played each other. Romania's second loss eliminated them, while Canada and Egypt played each other, with Egypt being served its first loss; Canada qualified.
Italy played its fourth game of the tournament against Egypt. The closely contested decisive game ended with Egypt qualifying for the main competition and Italy being eliminated.
The top two teams in each group advanced to the quarterfinal round.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 195 | 139 | +56 | 6 | Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| 2 |  Uruguay | 3 | 2 | 1 | 167 | 164 | +3 | 5 | |
| 3 |  Czechoslovakia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 161 | 164 | −3 | 4 | |
| 4 | Hungary | 3 | 0 | 3 | 143 | 199 | −56 | 3 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union | 3 | 3 | 0 | 192 | 143 | +49 | 6 | Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Bulgaria | 3 | 2 | 1 | 163 | 182 | −19 | 5 | |
| 3 |  Mexico | 3 | 1 | 2 | 172 | 171 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 |  Finland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 147 | 178 | −31 | 3 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Argentina | 3 | 3 | 0 | 239 | 196 | +43 | 6 | Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| 2 |  Brazil | 3 | 2 | 1 | 184 | 179 | +5 | 5 | |
| 3 | Philippines | 3 | 1 | 2 | 192 | 221 | −29 | 4 | |
| 4 | Canada | 3 | 0 | 3 | 201 | 220 | −19 | 3 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  France | 3 | 3 | 0 | 202 | 149 | +53 | 6 | Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| 2 |  Chile | 3 | 2 | 1 | 170 | 150 | +20 | 5 | |
| 3 | Egypt | 3 | 1 | 2 | 176 | 221 | −45 | 4 | |
| 4 | Cuba | 3 | 0 | 3 | 149 | 177 | −28 | 3 |
The top two teams in each quarterfinals advanced to the semifinals. The other two teams in each quarterfinals played in the fifth through eighth place classification.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uruguay | 3 | 2 | 1 | 194 | 187 | +7 | 5[a] | Qualified for the semifinals |
| 2 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 1 | 226 | 174 | +52 | 5[a] | |
| 3 | Bulgaria | 3 | 1 | 2 | 177 | 220 | −43 | 4[b] | Qualified for 5th–8th placement playoffs |
| 4 | France | 3 | 1 | 2 | 178 | 194 | −16 | 4[b] |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 246 | 166 | +80 | 6 | Qualified for the semifinals |
| 2 | Soviet Union | 3 | 2 | 1 | 190 | 195 | −5 | 5 | |
| 3 | Brazil | 3 | 1 | 2 | 177 | 155 | +22 | 4 | Qualified for 5th–8th placement playoffs |
| 4 | Chile | 3 | 0 | 3 | 159 | 256 | −97 | 3 |
| Classification semifinals | 5th place match | |||||
| Chile | 60 | |||||
| Bulgaria | 53 | |||||
| Chile | 58 | |||||
| Brazil | 49 | |||||
| Brazil | 59 | |||||
| France | 44 | |||||
| 7th place match | ||||||
| Bulgaria | 58 | |||||
| France | 44 | |||||
| Semifinals | Gold medal match | |||||
| July 31 | ||||||
| Soviet Union | 61 | |||||
| August 2 | ||||||
| Uruguay | 57 | |||||
| United States | 36 | |||||
| August 1 | ||||||
| Soviet Union | 25 | |||||
| United States | 85 | |||||
| Argentina | 76 | |||||
| Bronze medal match | ||||||
| August 2 | ||||||
| Uruguay | 68 | |||||
| Argentina | 59 | |||||
Classification 5–8 semifinals
31 July 1952 (1952-07-31) 09:00 |
OR p. 686 |
| Chile | 60–53 | Bulgaria |
| Scoring by half:37–29, 23–24 | ||
| Pts:Badrie 22 | Pts:Panov 13 | |
Medal round semifinals
7th place final
1 August 1952 (1952-08-01) 09:00 |
OR p. 688 |
| Bulgaria | 58–44 | France |
| Scoring by half: 22–22,36–24 | ||
| Pts:Panov 12 | Pts:Vacheresse 9 | |
5th place final
2 August 1952 (1952-08-02) 09:00 |
OR p. 688 |
| Chile | 58–49 | Brazil |
| Scoring by half:32–24,26–25 | ||
| Pts:Cordero Fernández 14 | Pts:Da Motta 16 | |
Bronze medal match
1 August 1952 (1952-08-01) 16:00 |
OR p. 688 |
| Uruguay | 68–59 | Argentina |
| Scoring by half:31–24,37–35 | ||
| Pts:Lombardo 23 | Pts:Gazsó 19 | |
Gold medal match
2 August 1952 (1952-08-02) 16:00 |
OR p. 688 |
| United States | 36–25 | Soviet Union |
| Scoring by half:17–15,19–10 | ||
| Pts:Lovellette 9 | Pts:Korkia 8 | |
| 1952 Olympic Basketball Champions |
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 United States Third title |
For the team rosters see:Basketball at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's team rosters.
Each country was allowed to enter one team of 14 players and they all were eligible for participation. A total number of 317 players were entered.
A total of 301(*) basketball players from 23 nations competed at the Helsinki Games:
Argentina (14) Belgium (13) Brazil (13) Bulgaria (14) Canada (13) Chile (13)
Cuba (12) Czechoslovakia (14) Egypt (14) Finland (14) France (14) Greece (12)
Hungary (13) Israel (12) Italy (13) Mexico (13)
Philippines (12) Romania (12) Soviet Union (14)
Switzerland (14) Turkey (12) United States (14) Uruguay (12)(*) NOTE: There are only players counted, which participated in one game at least. Up to now only two reserve player can be named, 14 reserve players are unknown.
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