1. Soviet Union
2. USA
3. Cuba
4. Italy
5. Yugoslavia
6. Puerto Rico
7. Brasil
8. Czechoslovakia
9. Australia
10. Poland
11. Spain
12. W.Germany
13. Philippines
14. Japan
15. Senegal
16. Egypt
These Olympics are most often
remembered for the terrorist attack that resulted in the death of 11
Israeli athletes. Then-IOC President Avery Brundage made the controversial
decision to continue the Games.
On the court, the Americans lost the gold medal in basketball for the
first time during the Cold War. The U.S.S.R. won the final game 51-50,
after confusion over the time remaining on the clock allowed the Soviets
to play the final three seconds of the game twice; the second time, they
scored the winning goal. The U.S. team protested the outcome, did not
attend the medal ceremony and did not accept the silver medal.
Soviet Union National Team beat USA in the final
seconds
Rosters: 1. USSR (Anatoli Poliwoda, Modestas Paulauskas, Surab Sakandelidse,
Alschan Scharmuchamedow, Alexander Boloschew, Iwan Jedeschko, Sergej Below,
Michail Korkija, Iwan Dworni, Gennadi Wolnow, Alexander Below, Sergej
Kowalenko) 2. USA (Kenneth Davis, Douglas Collins, Thomas "Tom" Henderson,
Michael Bantom, Robert Jones, Dwight Jones, James Forbes, James Brewer,
Tommy Burleson, Thomas McMillen, Kevin Joyce, Ed Ratleff) 3. Cuba (Juan Domecq, Ruperto Herrera, Juan Roca, Pedro Chappι, Josι
Miguel Alvarez Pozo, Rafael Canizares, Conrado Perez, Miguel Calderon, Tomas
Herrera, Oscar Varona, Alejandro Urgelles, Franklin Standard)
