Marca.com - Spain Should Intentionally Lose To Brazil

[InfiniteBaskets]

I could be wrong, but I think Russia's got the 1st spot on lock, even losing.

http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2...men-basketball

Yes, Russia has clinched already according to ESPN.

[wang4three]

If it gives you an easier path then it's a smart move. It was smart for the badminton players to do so as well and, IMO, they were unfairly punished. The ultimate goal is to win a medal. It's not the players' fault that the formats of these tournaments essentially create "useless games".

This should be easier to do in basketball too. Just don't play your best players. Rest them and play all your backups. Don't go as hard when it comes to things like stepping in to take charges and battling for tough rebounds.

If you allow people to lose on purpose, it could lend way to teams or players taking dives and saying they were just "strategizing." Gambling world would be happy I suppose.

Not to mention the integrity of it. I would not respect a person who purposely beat worse players to get to the top. There's no honor in that. The whole point of the Olympics is to prove to the world you are the best, not that you can cheat the system.

[Qwyjibo]

All this talk about honour and pride is nice but, IMO, very naive. The only thing people will remember in 10 years is who won the medals. There is a reason why so much attention is placed upon winning and medal counts. Whether or not that's how it should be, it's how it is.

It should be all about the big picture like in any competitive tournament. If the format was stupidly created in such a manner, I don't see why athletes/teams shouldn't take advantage of it and give themselves a better chance to win. I don't mind tanking in the NBA either because there are obvious benefits to doing it. Blame (or fix) the system, not the athletes who are simply looking at the big picture.

The ultimate goal is to win the gold medal. Because of that, I have no problem with athletes "taking it easy" when heir advancement is already assured and a loss could actually be beneficial to them.

[wang4three]

All this talk about honour and pride is nice but, IMO, very naive. The only thing people will remember in 10 years is who won the medals. There is a reason why so much attention is placed upon winning and medal counts. Whether or not that's how it should be, it's how it is.

It should be all about the big picture like in any competitive tournament. If the format was stupidly created in such a manner, I don't see why athletes/teams shouldn't take advantage of it and give themselves a better chance to win. I don't mind tanking in the NBA either because there are obvious benefits to doing it. Blame (or fix) the system, not the athletes who are simply looking at the big picture.

The ultimate goal is to win the gold medal. Because of that, I have no problem with athletes "taking it easy" when heir advancement is already assured and a loss could actually be beneficial to them.

I'm sure those in the banking and financial industry think the same thing

[Clutch]

Spain tanked the game perfectly

[InfiniteBaskets]

All this talk about honour and pride is nice but, IMO, very naive. The only thing people will remember in 10 years is who won the medals. There is a reason why so much attention is placed upon winning and medal counts. Whether or not that's how it should be, it's how it is.

It should be all about the big picture like in any competitive tournament. If the format was stupidly created in such a manner, I don't see why athletes/teams shouldn't take advantage of it and give themselves a better chance to win. I don't mind tanking in the NBA either because there are obvious benefits to doing it. Blame (or fix) the system, not the athletes who are simply looking at the big picture.

The ultimate goal is to win the gold medal. Because of that, I have no problem with athletes "taking it easy" when heir advancement is already assured and a loss could actually be beneficial to them.

The "big picture" varies for different parties involved. I agree whole-heartedly that teams should play their best strategy and go for what will give them the best chance to medal.

However, fans don't want to see terrible games. The game today was not bad by any means, however that badminton game was straight up terrible and made a mockery of the sport. Fans aren't going to pay to see that and it's also not good for promoting the sport in general. The bigger picture there for the IOC and whatever body governs international badminton is to keep the sport seen in good light and not turn fans/$$$ away.

Had Spain actually made a mockery of basketball by purposely shooting the ball into their own basket or chucking the ball out of bounds - the equivalent of what that badminton game was like, then yes someone else is going to step in and an even bigger picture perspective will be enforced.

[Derka]

The Greek players openly admitted it in the press.

And yet you haven't sourced any of this press.

[ThatCoolKid]

I'm sure those in the banking and financial industry think the same thing

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

I think a vast majority of people would have made the same decisions as those who packaged and sold subprime mortgages without some entity or incentive to hold them back. I don't hold people to unrealistic standards that those who write the rules consciously design the system to necessitate. The IOC or whoever designs the tournament format should find a way to discourage tanking or just accept whatever comes of their paradigms flaws.

[Kiddlovesnets]

Looks like Spain did lose, this is getting funny.

[leopoldstotch]

sounds like Spain was scared of playing Argentina in the quarters.

[Euroleague]

And yet you haven't sourced any of this press.

It was on Kostas Tsartsaris' twitter you idiot.