Utah Jazz players Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles will each have a chance to earn an Olympic medal this weekend.
Gobert, of France, and Ingles, of Australia, both advanced to the semifinal round, where each will have intriguing matchups.
France beat Italy 84-75 in the quarterfinals and will face Luka Doncic and Slovenia in the semifinals on Thursday at 5 a.m. MDT.
Gobert led the French with 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting. He added nine rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot. Evan Fournier scored 21 and Nicolas Batum added 15. Thomas Heurtel was the fourth French player to score in double figures, with 10 points.
Nico Mannion, son of former Utah Utes and Utah Jazz player Pace Mannion, scored five points on 1-of-10 shooting for Italy.
Ingles and Australia beat Argentina easily 97-59. Australia will face former Weber State player Damian Lillard and the USA in the semifinals on Wednesday at 10:15 p.m. MDT.
Ingles scored 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting, with three made 3-pointers, adding seven assists, three rebounds and a steal. Patty Mills led all scorers with 18 points and Matisse Thybulle (12 points), Jock Landale (12 points) and Nic Kay (10 points) were all in double figures. Former Jazz guard Dante Exum scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting.
With France and Australia on different sides of the bracket, either Ingles or Gobert is guaranteed an Olympic medal, as the winner of the semifinals will play in the gold medal game and the losers of the semifinals will play in the bronze medal game.
Nathaniel Coleman qualifies for men’s climbing final
Utah native Nathaniel Coleman made the cut for the men’s climbing final, coming in eighth overall in the 20-person field. Only the top eight athletes advance to the finals.
Coleman finished 10th in the first event of the day, speed climbing, with a best time of 6.51. He finished 11th in the second event, bouldering, and needed a good result in the final event — lead climbing — to qualify for the finals.
He delivered, finishing fifth in lead climbing when he reached the 39th hold. His combined results from all three events slotted him eighth overall, meaning he will get to compete for a medal.
Coleman will compete in the finals on Thursday, with the speed final at 2:30 a.m MDT, the bouldering final at 3:30 a.m. MDT and the lead final at 6:10 a.m. MDT.
Eddy Alvarez, USA baseball stay alive with win over Dominican Republic
Former Salt Lake Community College baseball player Eddy Alvarez and the United States are still alive.
USA baseball defeated the Dominican Republic 3-1 in the repechage bracket to advance to the semifinals.
Alvarez, playing second base, went 0-for-4. He had two putouts and an assist in the field.
Triston Casas hit a two-run home run in the first inning and Tyler Austin hit a solo home run in the fifth inning for the USA.
The United States now awaits the loser of Wednesday morning’s semifinal game between Japan and South Korea. The USA will play that team in the semifinals on Thursday at 4 a.m. MDT, with the winner advancing to the gold medal game.
Leilani Mitchell, Australia bounced from Olympics with quarterfinal loss to USA
Former Utah women’s basketball player Leilani Mitchell and Australia lost to the United States in the quarterfinals, ending Australia’s run.
Mitchell scored 14 points to lead Australia. She also added six assists, three rebounds and two steals in the 79-55 loss.
Breanna Stewart and Britney Griner paced the United States with 23 and 15 points, respectively.
Up Next
8/4, 10:15 p.m. MDT: Damian Lillard (Team USA, former Weber State basketball player) and Joe Ingles (Team Australia, Utah Jazz player), United States vs. Australia, men’s basketball semifinals
8/5, 2:30 a.m. MDT: Nathaniel Coleman (Team USA, Utah native), men’s climbing speed qualification
8/5, 3:30 a.m. MDT: Nathaniel Coleman (Team USA, Utah native), men’s climbing bouldering qualification
8/5, 4 a.m. MDT: Eddy Alvarez (Team USA, former Salt Lake Community College baseball player), baseball vs. TBD, semifinals
8/5, 5 a.m. MDT: Rudy Gobert (Team France, Utah Jazz player), men’s basketball vs. Slovenia, semifinals
8/5, 6:10 a.m. MDT: Nathaniel Coleman (Team USA, Utah native), men’s climbing lead qualification