Olympics-Basketball 3x3-Favourites Serbia win opener against debutant Americans

By Benjamin Mallet

PARIS (Reuters) -Top-ranked Serbia lived up to its status as favourites for the men's 3x3 basketball team gold medal by beating the United States 22-14 in their first match of the Paris Olympics pool stage on Tuesday.

"Doctor Strange" Strahinja Stojacic and his teammates rose to the physical challenge presented by their opponents to dispatch the second seeded Americans, who are seeking redemption in Paris after failing to qualify for the sport's debut in Tokyo.

Earlier, Latvia got off to the perfect start in their quest to retain the men's title they won in Tokyo by beating Lithuania 21-14 in the sweltering heat of the day.

Tokyo gold medallists "Batman" Karlis Lasmanis and "Robin" Nauris Miezis scored 16 points, including five two-pointers from long range, to drive a new-look Latvia team to victory.

"This is the Olympics, and you have to be mentally ready. This is the most important thing," said Miezis. "We have two new players, and I hope they saw how it will go here."

Women's defending champions the United States had a more disappointing start, suffering a 17-13 upset at the hands of Germany in the first contest of the competition.

France's men beat Poland 21-19 with a clutch two-pointer in the incandescent evening atmosphere at the iconic Place de la Concorde, just after their female counterparts suffered a 19-21 loss to top-seeded China in extra time.

In the other early matches, Canada's powerful women's team beat Australia 22-14, Spain edged Azerbaijan 18-16, and the Netherlands men's team downed China 21-16.

The 3x3, a codified version of pick-up basketball that has been played on streets and in school gyms for decades, is like standard basketball but played on a half-size court with three players on each side instead of five.

Regular baskets are worth one point, while sinking a bucket from beyond the three-point line of standard basketball gives you two.

The 10-minute time limit and 12-second shot clock give the game a frenetic feel, while courtside DJs are a call-back to the sport's urban, street roots.

In the pool stage, the eight teams play a round robin. The top two from the pool go straight to the semi-finals and the next four teams play off for the other two spots in the last four.

(Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; Editing by Bill Berkrot)