RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Pool play is over for the Australia men’s basketball team after the Aussies defeated Venezuela 81-56 on Sunday night.
Australia (4-1) had already secured the No. 2 seed in the quarterfinals before the game and rested point guard Patty Mills, whose 20.5 points per game ranks second at the Rio Games. The U.S. holds the No. 1 seed in Group A.
The Olympic experience came to an end for Venezuela (1-4), which was playing in the team’s second games. It placed 11th at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
The Australians jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first quarter and never trailed. Aussie Chris Goulding scored a game-high 22 and hit four 3-pointers. Australia shot 53 percent from the field while Venezuela connected on just 35 percent of its attempts. The Venezuelans made just seven field goals in the first and fourth quarters combined.
Anthony Perez led Venezuela with 12 points.
