Serbia will look to bounce back from an ugly opening loss in men’s basketball on Wednesday when they take on Puerto Rico in Group C pool play. Fans interested in catching every moment of the 2024 Paris Olympics live should sign up for Peacock, which will be streaming every event of The Games.
The Puerto Rico vs. Serbia men’s basketball game is scheduled to start at 11:15 a.m. ET Wednesday and will be broadcast on Peacock. Fans looking to watch can do so through FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, both of which offer a free trial. SlingTV doesn’t offer a free trial but does have other promotional offers available.
Nikola Jokic will make Serbia heavy favorites for the matchup as he tries to get his country in position to advance to the knockout round after a double-digit loss to Team USA in the opener. The opposition will be much easier this time around against Puerto Rico who are led by a pair of guards in Jose Alvarado and former Celtics point guard Tremont Waters.
Who: Puerto Rico vs. Serbia
When: Wednesday, July 30 at 11:15 a.m. ET
Where: Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France
Stream: FuboTV (free trial); DirecTV Stream (free trial); Sling; Peacock
Gear: Shop around for jerseys, shirts, hats, hoodies and more at Fanatics.com. Fanatics also has a sportsbook.
More coverage via the Associated Press:
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — No team has reached the quarterfinals yet in the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics. No team has been eliminated, either.
That said, Wednesday sure seems like make-or-break days for some nations — and medal chances might evaporate very quickly for those which stumble again.
With all 12 teams having been in action on either Saturday or Sunday, everyone in the men’s tournament at Pierre Mauroy Stadium gets Monday off. For some, that provides a chance to regroup and practice. For others, like the U.S. — which rolled past Serbia in its opener, led by Kevin Durant’s brilliant return from a calf issue — it brings a day to relax, recover and go be Team USA fans.
“It’s huge,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said Monday. “And it’s also important for us to allow our players to enjoy the Olympic experience, for them to be able to go and watch some of the other sports, be with their families. It’s a huge part of this. That’s what today is about, and then we’ll lock back in tomorrow.”
Group play takes a 12-team Olympic field and trims it down to eight, with the top two teams in each of the three groups automatically advancing to the quarterfinals in Paris next week and the two best third-place teams also moving on.
Translation: teams that go 3-0 in group are definitely in, teams that go 2-1 in group are almost certainly safe barring some wild tiebreaker scenario, teams that go 1-2 in group will need some help but could still move on (two such teams did advance at the Tokyo Games three years ago), and teams that go 0-3 in group are going home early.
A look at where things stand after one round of group play:
Group C: U.S., South Sudan to play for 1st place
— Standings: U.S. 1-0, South Sudan 1-0, Puerto Rico 0-1, Serbia 0-1.
— Wednesday schedule: Puerto Rico vs. Serbia, U.S. vs. South Sudan.
— Outlook: The U.S.-South Sudan matchup is one that everyone will be watching, especially after the upstart team from Africa nearly knocked off the Americans in London earlier this month in a 101-100 game that nobody saw coming. The winner of that game will lock up a trip to the quarterfinals. Serbia-Puerto Rico isn’t an elimination game, but the winner has a much better shot of advancing to next week and the loser will be doing a whole lot of hoping.
— After this: Saturday has Puerto Rico vs. U.S., Serbia vs. South Sudan.
— Quotable: “That was a friendly. They’re going to be ready for us. … USA is a big challenge, and we’ll prepare these next couple of days for USA and get in the gym and get right.” — South Sudan coach Royal Ivey, discussing the one-point loss in an exhibition at London and now getting ready to face the Americans in the Olympics.
Next week’s schedule
The quarterfinals are Aug. 6, the semifinals are Aug. 8 and the gold- and bronze-medal games are on Aug. 10, all in Paris.
