Australia got off to a good start in their win over Belarus (83-64) although Coach Jan Stirling was a bit apprehensive before the game as the Aussies had never played Belarus before.  Belarus went through to qualify for the Olympics in the first round of the Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women in Madrid.

New Zealand got a fright in their clash with African Champions Mali and scraped in at the end to win by 4 points (76-72).

China upset European Championship runners up, Spain, in another close encounter 68-62.

Korea used their zone defence to good effect to win over Brazil 68-62.

The USA got a scare in the first quarter of their clash with the Czech Republic when the CZE led 13-2 part way through this quarter, however, the USA team settled and got back in control and then from there on it was "shut the gate" as they went away to win 97-57.

In the final game of the day the Russian team was too strong for their fellow Europeans, Latvia, winning 62-57.

From the scores on the first day of play there were several close games and while the USA and Australia may be early favourites to meet in the gold medal game, there  could be several upsets on the way to the final.

The men's competition gets under way today - 10th August. 

Follow the up to date results and stories on the FIBA website - www.fiba.com and follow the links to the women's and men's competitions.  Lots of news, stories, videos to watch.