Basketball at the 1948 Summer Olympics

2nd Olympic Basketball Tournament
London 1948
Tournament details
Olympics	1948 Summer Olympics
Host nation	United Kingdom
City	London
Men's tournament
Teams	23
Medals Gold medalists  United States Silver medalists  France Bronze medalists  Brazil
Tournaments
← Berlin 1936  Helsinki 1952 →

Basketball at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Tournament
	men
Squads
	men
v t

Basketball at the 1948 Summer Olympics was the second appearance of the sport of basketball as an official Olympic medal event. A total number of 23 nations entered the competition.

Olympic basketball returned to indoor competition in Harringay Arena, after the disastrous weather conditions of the final game in the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Format[]

• In the preliminary rounds, teams were divided into 3 groups of 6 squads and a group with 5 squads.
• The preliminary round was played in a single round-robin format
• The Group tournament ranking system was observed as follows:

Team Result	Point Equivalent
Game Win	2
Game loss via ordinary circumstances	1
Game loss via default	0

• Ties were broken by the ratio of points scored to points allowed.
• After the preliminaries, the top 2 teams in each group will advance to the final round.
• The 4 remaining teams went to their respective classification playoffs.

Medalists[]

Gold	Silver	Bronze
United States (USA) Cliff Barker Don Barksdale Ralph Beard Lew Beck Vince Boryla Gordon Carpenter Alex Groza Wah Wah Jones Bob Kurland Ray Lumpp R. C. Pitts Jesse Renick Jackie Robinson Kenny Rollins	France (FRA) André Barrais Michel Bonnevie André Buffière René Chocat René Dérency Maurice Desaymonnet André Even Maurice Girardot Fernand Guillou Raymond Offner Jacques Perrier Yvan Quénin Lucien Rebuffic Pierre Thiolon	Brazil (BRA) Algodão Bráz Ruy de Freitas Marcus Vinícius Dias Affonso Évora Alexandre Gemignani Alfredo da Motta Alberto Marson Nilton Pacheco Massinet Sorcinelli

^[1]

Participating teams[]

	Defending Olympic Champion
	Olympic Runner-up
	Third placers
	Host nation

Americas	Europe	Asia	Africa
United States	Great Britain	Philippines	Egypt
Brazil	Italy	South Korea	—
Mexico	France	Republic of China
Uruguay	Hungary	Iran
Canada	Belgium	Iraq
Chile	Czechoslovakia
Peru	Switzerland
Argentina	Ireland
Cuba

Playoff berths for the Tournament[]

Allocation of Berths

Continental Zones	Automatic Qualifier	Additional berths from the previous Games	Total
Host Nation	1	N/A	1
Defending Olympic Champions	1	N/A	1
Americas Region	5	3	8
Asian Region	5	N/A	5
European Region	7	N/A	7
Africa Region	1	N/A	1
Total	20	3	23

Results[]

Preliminary round[]

Group A[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil	5	5	0	261	150	+111	10	Advance to the quarterfinals
2	Uruguay	5	3	2	246	170	+76	8
3	Hungary	5	3	2	201	172	+29	8	Qualified for 9–16th Classification
4	Canada	5	3	2	222	205	+17	8
5	Italy	5	1	4	170	208	−38	6	Qualified for 17th–21st Classification
6	Great Britain	5	0	5	103	298	−195	5

• Uruguay def. Great Britain, 69–17
• Brazil def. Hungary, 45–41
• Canada def. Italy, 55–37
• Brazil def. Uruguay, 36–32
• Canada def. Great Britain, 44–24
• Hungary def. Italy, 32–19
• Brazil def. Great Britain, 76–11
• Hungary def. Canada, 37–36
• Uruguay def. Italy, 46–34
• Italy def. Great Britain, 49–28
• Uruguay def. Hungary, 49–31
• Brazil def. Canada, 57–35
• Hungary def. Great Britain, 60–23
• Brazil def. Italy, 47–31
• Canada def. Uruguay, 52–50

Group B[]

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
South Korea	5	3	2	258	152	+106	8
Chile	5	3	2	269	162	+107	8
Belgium	5	3	2	232	155	+77	8
Philippines	5	3	2	261	198	+63	8
Republic of China	5	3	2	281	202	+79	8
Iraq	5	0	5	113	545	−432	5

• Philippines def. Iraq, 102–30
• Korea def. Belgium, 29–27
• Chile def. China, 44–39
• Chile def. Iraq, 100–18
• Philippines def. Korea, 35–33
• China def. Belgium, 36–34
• Chile def. Philippines, 68–39
• Belgium def. Iraq, 98–20
• China def. Korea, 49–48
• Belgium def. Chile, 38–36
• Korea def. Iraq, 120–20
• Philippines def. China, 51–32
• Belgium def. Philippines, 35–34
• China def. Iraq, 125–25
• Korea def. Chile, 28–21

Group C[]

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
United States	5	5	0	325	167	+158	10
Czechoslovakia	5	4	1	217	190	+27	9
Argentina	5	3	2	246	199	+47	8
Peru	5	2	3	198	187	+11	7
Egypt	5	1	4	162	256	−94	6
Switzerland	5	0	5	120	269	−149	5

• United States def. Switzerland, 86–21
• Czechoslovakia def. Peru, 38–30
• Argentina def. Egypt, 57–38
• Peru def. Egypt, 52–27
• Argentina def. Switzerland, 49–23
• United States def. Czechoslovakia, 53–28
• Peru def. Switzerland, 49–19
• United States def. Argentina, 59–57
• Czechoslovakia def. Egypt, 52–38
• United States def. Egypt, 66–28
• Czechoslovakia def. Switzerland, 54–28
• Argentina def. Peru, 42–34
• Egypt def. Switzerland, 31–29
• United States def. Peru, 61–33
• Czechoslovakia def. Argentina, 45–41

Group D[]

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Mexico	4	4	0	234	109	+125	8
France	4	3	1	214	131	+83	7
Cuba	4	2	2	213	131	+82	6
Iran	4	1	3	136	215	−79	5
Ireland	4	0	4	70	281	−211	4

• France def. Iran, 62–30
• Mexico def. Cuba, 39–31
• Mexico def. Ireland, 71–9
• France def. Cuba, 37–31
• Mexico def. France, 56–42
• Iran def. Ireland, 49–22
• Mexico def. Iran, 68–27
• Cuba def. Ireland, 88–25
• Cuba def. Iran, 63–30
• France def. Ireland, 73–14

17th-23rd place classification playoffs[]

	17th-23rd place quarter-finals				17th-20th place semifinals				17th place match
	(B4)  Republic of China	42
	(C6)  Switzerland	34
					(B4)  Republic of China	54
					(A6)  Great Britain	25
	(A6)  Great Britain	46
	(D5)  Ireland	21
									(B4)  Republic of China	38
									(A5)  Italy	54
	(A5)  Italy	77
	(B6)  Iraq	28
					(A5)  Italy	35
					(C5)  Egypt	33			19th place match
									(A6)  Great Britain	18
									(C5)  Egypt	50

Classification 21st-23rd[]

	Classification Semifinals				21st place match
	(C6)  Switzerland	55
	(D5)  Ireland	12
					(C6)  Switzerland (W/O)	2
					(B6)  Iraq	0

• Since the total number of competitors of the tournament was not a power of 2, a bye was given to Egypt, meaning they advanced to the classification semifinals. Also, Ireland was deemed to have finished last, due to the loss to Switzerland and a bye they earned from Iraq.

9th-16th place classification playoffs[]

	9-16th place quarter-finals				9-12th place semi-finals				9th place match
	(B3)  Belgium (W/O)	2
	(A3)  Hungary	0
					(B3)  Belgium	40
					(A4)  Canada	45
	(A4)  Canada	81
	(D4)  Iran	25
									(A4)  Canada	49
									(C4)  Peru	43
	(C4)  Peru	45
	(D3)  Cuba	40
					(C4)  Peru	40
					(B5)  Philippines	29			11th place match
	(B5)  Philippines	45
	(C3)  Argentina	43
									(B3)  Belgium	38
									(B5)  Philippines	34

Classification 13th-16th[]

	13-16th place semi-finals				13th place match
	(A3)  Hungary	0
	(D4)  Iran (W/O)	2
					(D4)  Iran	36
					(D3)  Cuba	70
	(D3)  Cuba	35
	(C3)  Argentina	34
					15th place match
					(A3)  Hungary	0
					(C3)  Argentina (W/O)	2

• Hungary forfeited all of the matches in this round as indicated above.

Final round[]

	Quarterfinals				Semi-finals				Final
	(C1)  United States	63
	(A2)  Uruguay	28
					(C1)  United States	71
					(D1)  Mexico	40
	(D1)  Mexico	43
	(B1)  South Korea	32
									(C1)  United States	65
									(D2)  France	21
	(A1)  Brazil	28
	(C2)  Czechoslovakia	23
					(A1)  Brazil	33
					(D2)  France	43			Third place match
	(D2)  France	53
	(B2)  Chile	52
									(A1)  Brazil	52
									(D1)  Mexico	47

Classification 5th-8th[]

	Classification semifinals				Fifth place match
	(A2)  Uruguay	45
	(B1)  South Korea	36
					(A2)  Uruguay	50
					(B2)  Chile	32
	(C2)  Czechoslovakia	36
	(B2)  Chile	38
					Seventh place match
					(B1)  South Korea	38
					(C2)  Czechoslovakia	39

Boxscores[]

17th–23rd place quarterfinals[]

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21st–23rd place semifinal[]

17th–20th place semifinals[]

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9th–16th place quarterfinals[]

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13th–16th place semifinals[]

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9th–12th place semifinals[]

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Quarterfinals[]

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5th–8th place semifinals[]

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Semifinals[]

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Final classification matches[]

21st place match[]

19th place match[]

17th place match[]

15th place match[]

13th place match[]

11th place match[]

9th place match[]

7th place match[]

5th place match[]

Bronze medal match[]

Gold medal match[]

Awards[]

1948 Olympic Basketball Champions
United States Second title

Participating nations[]

For the team rosters see: Basketball at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's team squads.

Each country was allowed to enter one team of up to 14 players and they all were eligible for participation (with a maximum of five on the court at any given moment). A total of 298(*) basketball players from 23 nations competed at the London Games:

•  Argentina (14)
•  Belgium (14)
•  Brazil (12)
•  Canada (14)
•  Chile (14)
•  Republic of China (10)
•  Cuba (14)
•  Czechoslovakia (14)
•  Egypt (14)
•  France (14)
•  Great Britain (13)
•  Hungary (14)(**)
•  Ireland (14)
•  Iran (13)
•  Iraq (10)
•  Italy (14)
•  South Korea (9)
•  Mexico (14)
•  Peru (11)
•  Philippines (10)
•  Switzerland (14)
•  United States (14)
•  Uruguay (14)

(*) NOTE: There are only players counted, which participated in one game at least, according to the official report, because the rosters for the matches are unknown. It is also unknown up to now, if there were more reserve players.

(*) and (**) It is uncertain if and played for Hungary in this tournament. The official report shows them, but Hungarian sources did not, however they are counted.

Summary[]

Place	Nation
1	United States (USA)
	Head Coach: Omar Browning (Phillips 66ers (Bartlesville, OK)) Cliff Barker (Kentucky) Don Barksdale (Oakland Bittners/UCLA) Ralph Beard (Kentucky) Lew Beck (Phillips 66ers/Oregon State) Vince Boryla (Denver Nuggets/Denver) Gordon Carpenter (Phillips 66ers/Arkansas) Alex Groza (Kentucky) Wah Wah Jones (Kentucky) Bob Kurland (Phillips 66ers/Oklahoma St.) Ray Lumpp (NYU) R. C. Pitts (Phillips 66ers/Arkansas) Jesse Renick (Phillips 66ers/Oklahoma St.) Jackie Robinson (Baylor) Kenny Rollins (Kentucky)
2	France (FRA)
3	Brazil (BRA)
	Head Coach: Moacir Daiuto
4	Mexico (MEX) Angel Acuña Lizaña Issac Alfaro Loza Alberto Bienvenu Barajas Jorge Cardiel Gaytán José de la Cruz Cabrera Gándara Rodolfo Díaz Mercado Francisco Galindo Chávez Jorge Gudiño Goya Héctor Guerrero Delgado Emilio López Enríquez Fernando Rojas Herrera José Rojas Herera Ignacio Romo Porchas Josué Santos de León Neri
5	Uruguay (URU) Martín Acosta y Lara Néstor F. Anton Giudice Victorio Cieslinskas Nelson Demarco Miguel Carlos Diab Figoli Eduardo A. Folle Colombo Héctor García Eduardo M. Gordon Morgan Adesio Lombardo Roberto Lovera Gustavo Magariños Morales de los Ríos Carlos Roselló Héctor Ruiz
6	Chile (CHI) Eduardo Cordero Fernández Ezequiel Figueroa Reyes Juan José Gallo Chinchilla Roberto Hammer Casadio Eduardo Kapstein Suckel Manuel Ledesma Barrales Víctor Mahana Badrie Luis Enrique Marmentini Gil Andrés Mitrovic Guic Eduardo Parra Rojas Hermán Raffo Abarca Marcos Sánchez Carmona
7	Czechoslovakia (TCH) Head Coach: Josef Fleischlinger Karel Bělohradský Cyril Benáček Jiří Chlup Jiří Drvota Josef Ezr Jozef Kalina Jan Kozák Václav Krása Zoltán Krenický Jozef Křepela Ivan Mrázek Jiří Siegel Josef Toms Ladislav Trpkoš
8	South Korea (KOR) Ahn Byung-Suk Bang Won-Sun Chang Chin-Ri Chyo Joon-Deuk Kang Hyun-Bong Kim Shin-Chung Lee Hoon-Sang Lee Yung-Choon Oh Chul-Soo
9	Canada (CAN) Head Coach: (University of British Columbia)) Ole Bakken (University of British Columbia) Bill Bell (University of British Columbia) Doodie Bloomfield (Montréal YMHA) Dave Campbell (University of British Columbia) Harry Kermode (University of British Columbia) Bennie Lands (Montréal YMHA) Pat McGeer (University of British Columbia) Reid Mitchell (University of British Columbia) Mendy Morein (Montréal YMHA) Nev Munro (University of British Columbia) Bobby Scarr (University of British Columbia) Cy Strulovitch (Montréal YMHA) Sol Tolchinsky (Montréal YMHA) Murray Waxman (Montréal YMHA)
10	Peru (PER) G. Ahrens Valdivia Carlos Alegre Benavides David Descalzo Álvarez Virgilio Drago Burga Alberto Fernández Calderón Arturo Ferreyros Pérez Eduardo Fiestas Arce Rodolfo Salas Crespo Luis Sánchez Maquiavelo R. Ríos Soracco José Vizcarra Nieto
11	Belgium (BEL) Georges Baert Auguste Bernaer Henri Coosemans François de Pauw Henri Hermans André Hollanders Henri Hollanders Emile Kets Léon Lampo Julien Meuris Gustave Poppe René Steurbaut Luois van de Goor Armand van Wambeke
12	Philippines (PHI) Head Coach: Dionisio Calvo Manuel Araneta Ramón Campos Eduardo Decena Andrés de la Cruz Felicisimo Fajardo Gabriel Fajardo Edgardo Fulgencio Antonio Luis Martínez Lauro Mumar Francisco Vestil
13	Cuba (CUB) Mario Aguero Medrano José Miguel Alvarez Pozo Casimiro García Artime Juan García García R. Carlos García Ordoñez Francisco Lavernia Hernández José Llanusa Gobel Miguel Llaneras Rodríguez Federico López Garviso Pedro Manuel Otero Vázquez Mario Quintero Padrón Fabio Ruiz Vinajeras Ramón Wiltz Bucelo Otazo A. Paget
14	Iran (IRI) Head Coach: Kazem Ashtari Asghar Ehsasi Fereidoun Esfandiari Hossein Hashemi Hossein Jabbarzadegan Hossein Karandish Farhang Mohtadi Houshang Rafatjah Fereydoon Sadeghi Ziaoddin Shadman Abolfazl Solbi Hossein Sorouri Hossein Saoudipour
15	Argentina (ARG) Head Coach: Jorge Hugo Canavesi Raúl Calvo Leopoldo Contarbio Oscar Furlong Ricardo González Manuel Guerrero Rafael Lledó León Martinetti Rubén Menini Jorge Nuré Oscar Pérez Cattáno Arturo Ruffa Juan Carlos Uder Bruno Varani Tomás Vío
16	Hungary (HUN) Antal Bánkuti János Halász Géza Kardos József Kozma István Lovrics Tibor Mezőfi György Nagy László Novakovszky Attila Timár Geng István Timár Geng Ede Vadászi Tibor Zsíros
17	Italy (ITA) Gianfranco Bersani Carlo Cerioni Sergio Ferriani Ezio Mantelli Federico Marietti Giancarlo Marinelli Giovanni Nesti Valentino Pellarini Giancarlo Primo Renzo Ranuzzi Luigi Rapini Romeo Romanutti Sergio Stefanini Vittorio Tracuzzi
18	Republic of China (ROC) Chia Chung-Chang Chua Bon-Hua Kya Is-Kyun Lee Edward Lee Tsun-Tung Pao John Sung-Yuan Wee Tian-Siak Woo Cheng-Chang Yee Jose Yu Sai-Chang
19	Egypt (EGY) Youssef Mohamed Abbas Youssef Abou Ouf Fouad Abdel Meguid Abu el Kheir Armand Philippe Catafago Mahmoud Gamal el Leissy Albert Fahmy Tadros Mohamed Habib Abdelrahman Ismail Hafez Robert Makzoume Hassan Moawad Medhat Youssef Mohamad Hussein Kamal Montassir Ahmed Nessim Mohamed Soliman
20	Great Britain (GBR) Frank Cole Trevor C. Davies Alexander Elk Malcolm Finlay Colin L. Hunt Douglas C. Legg Ronald H. Legg Stanley McMeekan Sydney McMeekan Robert H. Norris Lionel Price Harry L. Weston Stanley B. Weston
21	Switzerland (SUI) Pierre Albrecht Henri Baumann Marc Bossy Claude Chevalley Maurice Chollet Bernard Dutoit Robert Geiser Hans Gujer Claude Landini Jean Pare G. Piaget Jean Pollet Georges Stockly J. Tribolet
22	Iraq (IRQ) Hashim Awni Kanaan Kadir Irfan Ali Salman Salih Faraj George Hanna Hamid Ahmed Wadud Khalil Mahdi Salman Yonan Emile
23	Ireland (IRL) Harry Boland Vincie Crehan John Flynn William Jackson Thomas Keenan James R. McGee Thomas Malone Frank B. O'Connor Donald O'Donovan Daniel Reddin Donald Sheriff Patrick Sheriff Christy Walsh

References[]

External links[]

• Official Olympic Report

Coordinates: 51°34′35″N 0°05′52″W / 51.5763°N 0.0977°W / 51.5763; -0.0977