Jon Ackerman

Rio Olympic men’s basketball rosters

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The 12 rosters with 12 men each are set for the Rio Olympic men’s basketball tournament.

The U.S. has won the past two gold medals, and is expected to do the same this time around. Spain has taken silver at the past two Olympics, and is the favorite to yet again meet the Americans in the gold-medal game. Serbia, France and Lithuania also figure to contend for medals.

Australia, China, France, Serbia, the U.S. and Venezuela are in Group A. Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Lithuania, Nigeria and Spain are in Group B. The tournament tips off Aug. 6 and concludes Aug. 21.

View the entire schedule here. The rosters are below:

Argentina
Roberto Acuna
Nicolas Brussino
Facundo Campazzo
Gabriel Deck
Carlos Delfino
Marcos Delia
Patricio Garino
Manu Ginobili
Nicolas Laprovittola
Leo Mainoldi
Andres Nocioni
Luis Scola

Australia
David Andersen
Cameron Bairstow
Aron Baynes
Andrew Bogut
Ryan Broekhoff
Matthew Dellavedova
Chris Goulding
Joe Ingles
Kevin Lisch
Damian Martin
Pat Mills
Brock Motum

Brazil
Leandro Barbosa
Vitor Benite
Cristiano Felicio
Alex Garcia
Guilherme Giovannoni
Rafael Hettsheimer
Nene Hilario
Marcelinho Huertas
Augusto Lima
Rafael Luz
Raulzinho Neto
Marquinhos Vieira

China
Ding Yanyuhang
Guo Ailun
Li Gen
Li Muhao
Sui Ran
Wang Zhelin
Yi Jianlian
Zhai Xiaochuan
Zhao Jiwei
Zhou Peng
Zhou Qi
Zou Yuchen

Croatia
Marko Arapovic
Luka Babic
Miro Bilan
Bojan Bogdanovic
Mario Hezonja
Filip Kruslin
Darko Planinic
Zeljko Sakic
Dario Saric
Krunoslav Simon
Rok Stipcevic
Roko Ukic

France
Nicolas Batum
Nando De Colo
Boris Diaw
Antoine Diot
Mickael Gelabale
Rudy Gobert
Thomas Heurtel
Charles Kahudi
Joffrey Lauvergne
Tony Parker
Florent Pietrus
Kim Tillie

Lithuania
Marius Grigonis
Paulius Jankunas
Robertas Javtokas
Adas Juskevicius
Mantas Kalnietis
Antanas Kavaliauskas
Mindaugas Kuzminskas
Jonas Maciulis
Domantas Sabonis
Renaldas Seibutis
Edgaras Ulanovas
Jonas Valanciunas

Nigeria
Josh Akognon
Alade Aminu
Ike Diogu
Ebi Ere
Michael Gbinije
Ekene Ibekwe
Shane Lawal
Andy Ogide
Chamberlain Oguchi
Stan Okoye
Michael Umeh
Ben Uzoh

Serbia
Stefan Bircevic
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Nikola Jokic
Stefan Jovic
Nikola Kalinic
Milan Macvan
Stefan Markovic
Nemanja Nedovic
Miroslav Raduljica
Marko Simonovic
Vladimir Stimac
Milos Teodosic

Spain
Alex Abrines
Jose Calderon
Victor Claver
Rudy Fernandez
Pau Gasol
Willy Hernangomez
Sergio Llull
Nikola Mirotic
Juan Carlos Navarro
Felipe Reyes
Sergio Rodriguez
Ricky Rubio

United States
Carmelo Anthony
Harrison Barnes
Jimmy Butler
DeMarcus Cousins
DeMar DeRozan
Kevin Durant
Paul George
Draymond Green
Kyrie Irving
DeAndre Jordan
Kyle Lowry
Klay Thompson

Venezuela
Nestor Colmenares
John Cox
David Cubillan
Gregory Echenique
Windi Graterol
Heissler Guillent
Dwight Lewis
Miguel Marriaga
Anthony Perez
Miguel Ruiz
Gregory Vargas
Jose Vargas

IOC creates 3-person panel to have final say on Russian participation

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A three-person International Olympic Committee panel will make a final ruling on which individual Russian athletes are allowed to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Games.

The IOC’s ruling executive board, meeting Saturday for the final time before the opening of the games next Friday, said the panel will decide on the entry of Russian athletes whose names have been forwarded to compete by their international sports federations and approved by an independent arbitrator.

“This panel will decide whether to accept or reject that final proposal,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. “We want to make it absolutely clear that we are the ones making the final call.”

The move comes amid a doping scandal that has led to the exclusion of more than 100 Russian athletes connected to state-sponsored cheating. More than 250 Russian athletes have been cleared to compete by the federations.

The panel will have to make its ruling before the opening ceremony, just six days away.

“We’re working on a very, very tight timeline,” Adams said. “It has to be finished by Friday at the very latest.”

The panel will consist of three executive board members: Turkey’s Ugur Erdener, chairman of the IOC medical commission; Germany’s Claudia Bokel, head of the athletes’ commission; and Spain’s Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., a vice president of the modern pentathlon federation.

Adams said the panel will review every athlete cleared by the federations, but would not reopen the cases of those who have been barred. An arbitrator from the Court of Arbitration for Sport will make an initial ruling before the final decision goes to the IOC panel.

“This review board panel will look at every single decision, every single athlete, to make sure the IOC is happy with the decision that’s been taken,” Adams said. “It’s very important that the IOC makes the final decision based on independent advice.”

Saturday’s meeting came less than a week after the IOC board decided not to ban Russia’s entire team from the games because of state-sponsored doping. Rejecting calls by more than a dozen anti-doping agencies for a complete ban on Russia, the IOC left it to the federations to vet which athletes could compete or not.

The Russians banned so far include the 67 track and field athletes barred as a whole by the IAAF, and more than 30 others rejected under new IOC eligibility criteria. Russia’s eight-member weightlifting team was kicked out of the games on Friday for what the international federation called “extremely shocking” doping results that brought the sport into “disrepute.”

The IOC has been roundly criticized by anti-doping bodies, athletes groups and Western media for not imposing a total ban on Russia. Pressure for the full sanction followed a World Anti-Doping Agency report by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren that accused Russia’s sports ministry of overseeing a vast doping conspiracy involving the country’s summer and winter sports athletes.

IOC President Thomas Bach has defended the decision as one that protects individual athletes who have not been implicated in doping.

Rio’s preparations, meanwhile, remain clouded on several fronts, including budget cuts, water pollution, slow ticket sales, and concerns over crime and the Zika virus. The games come with the suspended president awaiting an impeachment trial and the country gripped by a severe recession.

But Bach and the IOC board remained upbeat following a final progress report by organizing committee chief Carlos Nuzman, including details of the opening ceremony at the Maracana stadium.

“We can’t reveal any secrets but the organizing committee tell us that the ceremony will have Brazilian soul and enchant the world,” Adams said.

Bach gave the organizers a final pep talk ahead of the first games in South America.

“He thinks it’s going to be a great games,” Adams said. “He made that very, very clear. He gave a very rousing thank you to the team and said, ‘Now you must concentrate on delivery, delivery, delivery.”

Also Saturday, the IOC board granted full recognition to the International Ski Mountaineering Federation. It had received provisional recognition in 2014. Saturday’s decision marks another step toward potential future inclusion in the Winter Games.

MORE: Doping investigator ‘inundated with requests’ for more info on Russians

Bryan brothers pull out of Olympics, won’t defend gold medal

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Bob and Mike Bryan have pulled out of the Rio Games, less than a week before they were to begin defending their men’s doubles Olympic gold medal.

The Americans made the announcement on their Facebook page, citing their “family’s health,” but not specifically concerns with the Zika virus, which has caused many other tennis players and golfers to withdraw.

“After countless hours of deliberation Mike and I have decided to forego the Rio Olympics. Though we’d love to compete again, as husbands and fathers, our family’s health is now our top priority,” they wrote.

The 38-year-old identical twin brothers are the second-ranked men’s pair in the world. The U.S. Tennis Association is looking into replacements, according to the Associated Press.

The Bryan brothers defeated Michael Llodra and France Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France for gold four years ago in London. At the 2008 Beijing Games, they fell to Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in the semifinals before knocking off Llodra and Arnaud Clement for bronze.

The Bryans were the No. 1 seed in both 2008 and ’12.

After winning gold in London, Bob and Mike went on to collect titles at the next four Grand Slams (2012 U.S. Open, 2013 Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon). The brothers have won a record total of 16 Grand Slam titles together.

MORE: Tomas Berdych joins growing list of tennis players skipping Rio