1.
2016 Summer Olympics
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More than 11,000 athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees, including first time entrants Kosovo, South Sudan, and the Refugee Olympic Team, took part. With 306 sets of medals, the games featured 28 Olympic sports, including rugby sevens and golf and these sporting events took place at 33 venues in the host city, and at five in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brasília, and Manaus. These were the first Summer Olympic Games under the International Olympic Committee presidency of Thomas Bach, the host city Rio de Janeiro was announced at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 2 October 2009. Rio became the first South American city to host the Summer Olympics, the United States topped the medal table for the fifth time in the past six Summer Olympics, winning the most golds and most medals overall, as well as its 1, 000th Olympic gold medal overall. Great Britain finished second and became the first country in the history of the modern Olympics to increase its tally of medals in the subsequent games after being the host nation. Host country Brazil won seven medals, its most at any single Summer Olympics. Bahrain, Fiji, Jordan, Kosovo, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Tajikistan, Ivory Coast and Vietnam each won their first gold medals, the bidding process for the 2016 Olympic Games was officially launched on 16 May 2007. The first step for each city was to submit an application to the International Olympic Committee by 13 September 2007. Completed official bid files, containing answers to a 25-question IOC form, were to be submitted by each 14 January 2008. Four candidate cities were chosen for the shortlist on 4 June 2008, Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, prague and Baku also failed to make the cut. Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco headed the 10-member Evaluation Commission, having chaired the evaluation commission for the 2012 Summer Olympics bids. The commission made on-site inspections in the quarter of 2009. They issued a comprehensive technical appraisal for IOC members on 2 September, many restrictions are in place designed to prevent bidding cities from communicating with or influencing directly the 115 voting members. Cities may not invite any IOC member to visit nor may they send anything that could be construed as a gift, the final voting was held on 2 October 2009, in Copenhagen with Madrid and Rio de Janeiro perceived as favourites to land the games. Chicago and Tokyo were eliminated after the first and second rounds of voting, respectively, the lead held and Rio de Janeiro was announced as host of 2016 Summer Olympics. This comes just five months after CCO Flávio Pestana quit for personal reasons, Pestana withdrew later during the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Renato Ciuchin was then appointed as COO, events took place at eighteen existing venues, nine new venues constructed specifically for the Games, and seven temporary venues. Each event was held in one of four geographically segregated Olympic clusters, Barra, Copacabana, Deodoro, the same was done for the 2007 Pan American Games
2.
Brazil
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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological systems. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, in 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a state governed under a constitutional monarchy. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, the country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup détat. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, Brazils current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, Brazils economy is the worlds ninth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by GDP as of 2015. A member of the BRICS group, Brazil until 2010 had one of the worlds fastest growing economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition. Brazils national development bank plays an important role for the economic growth. Brazil is a member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Unasul, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, CPLP. Brazil is a power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs. One of the worlds major breadbaskets, Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years and it is likely that the word Brazil comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name, early sailors sometimes also called it the Land of Parrots. In the Guarani language, a language of Paraguay, Brazil is called Pindorama
3.
Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the second-most populous municipality in Brazil and the sixth-most populous in the Americas. The metropolis is anchor to the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, Rio de Janeiro is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazils third-most populous state. Part of the city has designated as a World Heritage Site, named Rio de Janeiro. Founded in 1565 by the Portuguese, the city was initially the seat of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, later, in 1763, it became the capital of the State of Brazil, a state of the Portuguese Empire. Rio stayed the capital of the pluricontinental Lusitanian monarchy until 1822 and this is one of the few instances in history that the capital of a colonising country officially shifted to a city in one of its colonies. Rio de Janeiro has the second largest municipal GDP in the country, the home of many universities and institutes, it is the second-largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17% of national scientific output according to 2005 data. The Maracanã Stadium held the finals of the 1950 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, the city is divided into 33 administrative regions. Europeans first encountered Guanabara Bay on 1 January 1502, by a Portuguese expedition under explorer Gaspar de Lemos captain of a ship in Pedro Álvares Cabrals fleet, allegedly the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci participated as observer at the invitation of King Manuel I in the same expedition. The region of Rio was inhabited by the Tupi, Puri, Botocudo, in 1555, one of the islands of Guanabara Bay, now called Villegagnon Island, was occupied by 500 French colonists under the French admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon. Consequently, Villegagnon built Fort Coligny on the island when attempting to establish the France Antarctique colony, Rio de Janeiro was the name of Guanabara Bay. Until early in the 18th century, the city was threatened or invaded by several, mostly French, pirates and buccaneers, such as Jean-François Duclerc, on 27 January 1763, the colonial administration in Portuguese America was moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro. The kingdoms capital was transferred to the city, which, thus, as there was no physical space or urban structure to accommodate hundreds of noblemen who arrived suddenly, many inhabitants were simply evicted from their homes. The first printed newspaper in Brazil, the Gazeta do Rio de Janeiro, from the colonial period until the first independent decades, Rio de Janeiro was a city of slaves. There was an influx of African slaves to Rio de Janeiro, in 1819. In 1840, the number of slaves reached 220,000 people, the Port of Rio de Janeiro was the largest port of slaves in America. As a political center of the country, Rio concentrated the political-partisan life of the Empire and it was the main stage of the abolitionist and republican movements in the last half of the 19th century. Rio continued as the capital of Brazil after 1889, when the monarchy was replaced by a republic, until the early years of the 20th century, the city was largely limited to the neighbourhood now known as the historic city centre, on the mouth of Guanabara Bay. Expansion of the city to the north and south was facilitated by the consolidation and electrification of Rios streetcar transit system after 1905, though many thought that it was just campaign rhetoric, Kubitschek managed to have Brasília built, at great cost, by 1960
4.
United States men's national basketball team
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The USA Basketball Mens Senior National Team, commonly known as the United States Mens National Basketball Team, represents the United States in international mens basketball. The USA team is the most successful team in competition, winning medals in all eighteen Olympic tournaments it has entered. The United States is currently ranked first in the FIBA World Rankings, traditionally composed of amateur players, a 1989 rule change by FIBA allowed USA Basketball to field teams with professional players. The first such team, known as the Dream Team, won the medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. With the introduction of professionals, the team was able to spark a run of dominance after capturing only a bronze medal in 1988. A team of professional players competed at the 1994 FIBA World Championship, in 1996,2000,2008,2012, and 2016 the USA again captured gold medals at the Olympics. Facing increased competition, the USA failed to win a medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, determined to put an end to these failures, USA Basketball initiated a long-term project aimed at creating better, more cohesive teams. The USA won its first seven games at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan before losing against Greece in the semi-finals, the USA won gold two years later, though, at the 2008 Summer Olympics with a dominant performance. The USA continued this streak of dominance by going undefeated and capturing gold once more at the 2012 Summer Olympics,2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the United States possessed a clear advantage in the early decades of international play. Through the next six tournaments, the United States went undefeated, collecting gold while not losing a single contest in the held in London, Helsinki, Melbourne, Rome, Tokyo. Roster until the formation of the 1992 Dream Team, the 1952 team included big man Clyde Lovellette of the University of Kansas, a future Hall of Famer and NBA star, but Kurland once again led the team to victory. The 1956 team was led by San Francisco Dons Bill Russell, the 1972 Olympic mens basketball gold medal game, marking the first ever loss for the USA in Olympic play, is arguably the most controversial in Olympic history. The United States rode their seven consecutive gold medals and 63–0 Olympic record to Munich for the 1972 Summer Olympics, the team won its first eight games in convincing fashion, setting up a final against the Soviet Union. With three seconds left in the medal game, American forward Doug Collins sank two free throws to put the Americans up 50–49. However, the buzzer sounded before Collins second free throw, immediately following Collins free throws, the Soviets inbounded the ball and failed to score. But one official had whistled play to stop with one remaining after hearing the earlier horn. The Soviets argued that they had requested a timeout before Collins foul shots, the referees ordered the clock reset to three seconds and the games final seconds replayed. However, the clock was in the process of being reset when the referees put the ball in play
5.
Serbia men's national basketball team
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The Serbian national basketball team represents Serbia in international basketball matches and is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Serbia. Serbia is currently ranked third in the FIBA World Rankings, with the start of Yugoslav Wars in 1991, the mighty team of Yugoslavia was disbanded. It was formed of two stated of Serbia and Montenegro, and had less then half the population of former country, at the 1996 Summer Olympics the team lost with 69–95 to the United States in gold-medal game. The national team won the medal at the EuroBasket 1997,1998 FIBA World Championship, EuroBasket 2001. Later, the Yugoslavian national team won the tournament by defeating New Zealand in the semi-finals, on 4 February 2003, the federal assembly of Yugoslavia created a loose state union—the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The following years were underwhelming as the team failed to make the podium of the tournament. At the EuroBasket 2003 it came in 6th place, but due the world champion status, however, it was eliminated in the group stage with 1–4 score, finishing in 11th place. After two consecutive tournament disappointments, hope for the comeback came at the EuroBasket 2005 where the team of Serbia. Also, legendary Željko Obradović became national head coach again, however, the national team was surprisingly eliminated in the play-off stage by France with 71–74 loss, and finished in 9th place. Obradović stepped down shortly after the tournament, and blamed the bad atmosphere among the star players for yet another failure. The national team participated at the 2006 FIBA World Championship on a card due to the results in the past. However, the team of Serbia and Montenegro once again failed to impress. On 21 May 2006, Montenegrins voted in an independence referendum, in late 2013, a Serbian basketball hall of famer Aleksandar Đorđević was confirmed as a successor to Ivković. Đorđević led the team to two medals at the 2014 FIBA World Championshipand the 2016 Summer Olympics. Serbia won two Fiba World Cup 1998,2002, and the official tournament Fiba Diamond Ball 2004
6.
Spain men's national basketball team
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The Spanish national basketball team is the basketball team representing Spain in international competitions, organized and run by the Spanish Basketball Federation. Their last major title was in 2015, when they won the European championship and they are second in the FIBA World Rankings for men, only behind the United States. When Spain qualified for the 1936 Summer Olympics, where basketball was part of the games for the first time, expectations were high for the runner-up of the 1935 EuroBasket. Unfortunately, as one of the favorites to win medals, Spain, the other finalist was the USA national team, which won the final and with it the gold medal. Spain, thus, took the Olympic silver medal, continuing the success started at the 2006 FIBA championship, Spain again reached the final at the 2008 Summer Olympics. This proved to be a rematch of the 1984 Olympic final, this time, the Americans won after a remarkably close game 116 to 105. Four years later, in London, USA faced Spain again with a result of 107–100 for the Americans, in the early years of the FIBA World Cup, Spain struggled to establish a steady presence as a competitor. Between 1950 and 1970, the only qualified once. Then, beginning in 1974 Spain developed into a serious competitor, at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, the Spanish team finally achieved the ultimate victory, the greatest success in its history. The date was 3 September 2006, as Spain won the medal game against the Greek national team. Held in the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, the game ended with a score of 70–47. Pau Gasol was named the tournament MVP, and Jorge Garbajosa also made the All-Tournament team, shortly afterwards, the team were awarded with the 2006 Prince of Asturias Award in Sports. The first game in the history of the selection was a qualifier for the 1935 EuroBasket and this event, which was held in Geneva in the summer of 1935 was the first EuroBasket game in history. Spain finished 2nd and qualified for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin where basketball was introduced for the first time, after several tries, Spain won its first continental championship in 2009, repeating its success in 2011 and 2015. The image was requested for a campaign for a courier company and was published in a Spanish national daily sports newspaper. Besides success at the Big Three events Spain has also shown success at the Mediterranean Games, bold denotes players still playing international basketball. Played in most Summer Olympic Games, Juan Carlos Navarro Longest tenure in the team, Epi,15 years. Most medals won with the team, Pau Gasol Felipe Reyes Juan Carlos Navarro Most games as head coach, Antonio Díaz-Miguel,423 games
7.
United States women's national basketball team
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The United States womens national basketball team are the defending Olympic and World champions in womens basketball. The team is composed of some of the top American players in the WNBA, the team has won eight Olympic gold medals and nine FIBA world championships, and did not lose an international match between 1994 and 2006. However, with longtime leaders Dawn Staley, Lisa Leslie, and Teresa Edwards absent, they lost to Russia in the semifinal of the 2006 world championship, eventually settling for the bronze. On August 11,2012, the team won their 5th straight gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and on October 5,2014, beat Spain 77-64 in the final of the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women for their second consecutive world title. The results of the competition for Team USA, Tentative roster for the 2016 Summer Olympics, the following is the United States roster for the womens basketball tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics
8.
Spain women's national basketball team
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The Spain womens national basketball team represents Spain in international basketball competitions for women. The team has participated in the FIBA World Championship for Women since 1994 and it has won one Olympic medal and two World Championship medals. After winning the EuroBasket 1993 Women, in 1994 the female selection of the Spanish team qualified for the FIBA World Championship for Women for the first time, since then, the team has qualified for every World Championship. Overall, Spain finished 8th in Australia, and two consecutive 5th in Germany and China, and 8th in Brazil 2006 and these results are quite commendable, considering that Spain has only competed with the world elite for 12 years. The female section of the Spanish team is ranked No.3 in the ranking of FIBA, achieving bronze and silver medals in the 2010 and 2014 Championships respectively. At the EuroBasket Women, the Spanish selection won gold in 1993 and 2013, won silver in 2007, at the Mediterranean Games, Spain won gold in 1991, and bronze in 1993,2001 and 2005. The following is the Spain roster in the basketball tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Bold denotes players still playing international basketball, as of 22 August 2016 Spanish Basketball Federation Spain national basketball team Spain national youth basketball teams Official website FIBA profile
9.
Serbia women's national basketball team
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The Serbian womens national basketball team represents Serbia in international basketball matches and is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Serbia. Serbia is currently ranked seventeenth in the FIBA World Rankings and it was known as the FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro womens national basketball team until 2006. When Serbia became independent, it became the state to the Serbia and Montenegro and, therefore. For the results before 1992 see Yugoslavia womens national basketball team, the following is the Serbia roster in the womens basketball tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics
10.
Basketball at the 2012 Summer Olympics
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Basketball at the 2012 Summer Olympics was held from 28 July to 12 August 2012. The preliminary matches and the quarterfinal matches were played in the new Basketball Arena in Olympic Park which seated up to 12,000 spectators. The mens knockout games and the games from semifinals onward were played in the North Greenwich Arena. The US mens and US womens teams both successfully defended their Olympic basketball championships of 2008, two settings in London have been used for the basketball tournaments, The O2 Arena and the Basketball Arena in Olympic Park at Stratford. The National Olympic Committees may enter up to one 12-player mens team, initially, basketball was the only team sport in which the host country was not automatically awarded a team in the tournament. However, in a meeting held in Lyon, France, on 13 March 2011, twelve qualified nations were drawn into two groups, each consisting of six teams. Each game result merits a corresponding point, *The team has less than two players available to play on the court, **A team cannot present five players at the start of the game, or its actions prevent play from being resumed. The semifinal winners contested for the medal, while the losers played for the bronze medal. The draw for the groups of the tournament was made on 30 April 2012. Included are the teams FIBA World Rankings prior to the tournament, the draw for the groups of the womens tournament was made on 30 April 2012. Included are the teams FIBA World Rankings before the tournament, the International Basketball Federation named the following 30 referees to officiate the basketball games at the 2012 Olympics
11.
Basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics
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The games are planned to be held from 24 July to 9 August 2020 in Tokyo. The city was announced as the host at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires on 7 September 2013, Tokyo, Istanbul, and Madrid were the three candidate cities. The applicant cities of Baku and Doha were not promoted to candidate status, a bid from Rome was withdrawn. The IOC voted to select the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympics on 7 September 2013 at the 125th IOC Session at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Buenos Aires, an exhaustive ballot system was used. No city won over 50% of the votes in the first round, a run-off vote between these two cities was held to determine which would be eliminated. In the final vote, a head-to-head contest between Tokyo and Istanbul, Tokyo was selected by 60 votes to 36, the Tokyo metropolitan government set aside a fund of 400 billion Japanese yen to cover the cost of hosting the Games. The Japanese government is considering increasing slot capacity at both Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport by easing airspace restrictions, but East Japan Railway Company is planning a new route near Tamachi to Haneda Airport. Funding is also planned to accelerate completion of the Central Circular Route, Tokyo Gaikan Expressway and Ken-Ō Expressway, the Organizing Committee is headed by former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. Olympic and Paralympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa is overseeing the preparations on behalf of the Japanese government, as a result, a design competition for the new stadium was launched. In November 2012, the Japan Sport Council announced that out of 46 finalists, plans included dismantling the original stadium, and expanding the capacity from 50,000 to a modern Olympic capacity of about 80,000. However, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced in July 2015 that plans to build the new National Stadium would be scrapped,11 new venues are to be constructed. Seven venues will be located within the business area of Tokyo. Several of these venues were used for the 1964 Summer Olympics. 30,000 yen will be the price for the final of popular games, such as athletics. The average price of all the Olympic tickets is 7,700 yen, 60% of the tickets will be sold for 4,400 yen or less. Tickets will be sold through 40,000 shops in Japan, the 2020 Summer Olympic program is scheduled to feature 33 sports and a total of 47 disciplines and 324 events. Following the 2012 Games, the IOC assessed the 26 sports held in London, with the remit of selecting 25 core sports to join new entrants golf, in effect, this would involve the dropping of one sport from the 2016 Games program. This would leave a vacancy in the 2020 Games program, which the IOC would seek to fill from a shortlist containing seven unrepresented sports
12.
Rio de Janeiro (state)
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Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo, the state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast. Rio de Janeiro shares borders with all the states in the same Southeast macroregion, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo. It is bounded on the east and south by the Atlantic Ocean, Rio de Janeiro has an area of 43,653 km². The archaic demonym meaning for the Rio de Janeiro State is fluminense, taken from the Latin word flumen, from 1783 and during all the Imperial Regime, carioca remained only as a nickname by which other Brazilians called the inhabitants of Rio. During the first years of the Brazilian Republic, carioca was the given to those who lived in the slums or a pejorative way to refer the bureaucratic elite of the Federal District. Only when the City of Rio lost its status as Federal District and became a Brazilian State when the capital was moved to Brasilia, carioca was made a co-official demonym with guanabarino. In 1975, the Guanabara State was extinct by President Geisel becoming the present City of Rio de Janeiro, nowadays, social movements like Somos Todos Cariocas try to achieve the official recognition of carioca as a co-official demonym of Rio de Janeiro State. Rio de Janeiro is the smallest state in the Southeast macroregion, in the Brazilian flag, the state is represented by the Beta star in the Southern Cross. European presence in Rio de Janeiro is as old as Brazil itself, Rio de Janeiro originated from parts of the captainships of de Tomé and São Vicente. Between 1555 and 1567, the territory was occupied by the French, aiming to prevent the occupation of the Frenchmen, in March 1565, the city of Rio de Janeiro was established by Estácio de Sá. In 1763, Rio de Janeiro became the capital of Colonial Brazil, with the flight of the Portuguese royal family from Portugal to Brazil in 1808, the region soon benefited from urban reforms to house the Portuguese. The following years witnessed the creation of the Jardim Botânico and the Academia Real Militar, during this same time, the Escola Real de Ciências, Artes e Ofícios was founded as well. In 1834, the city of Rio de Janeiro was transformed into a city, remaining as capital of the state, while the captainships became provinces, with headquarters in Niterói. In 1889, the city became the capital of the Republic, the city became the federal district. In 1894, Petrópolis became the capital of Rio de Janeiro, with the relocation of the federal capital to Brasília in 1960, the city of Rio de Janeiro became Guanabara State. Niterói remained the capital for Rio de Janeiro state, while Rio de Janeiro served the same status for Guanabara. In 1975, the states of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro were merged under the name of Rio de Janeiro, the symbols of the former State of Rio de Janeiro were preserved, while the symbols of Guanabara were kept by the city of Rio de Janeiro
13.
1954 FIBA World Championship
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Twelve nations participated in the tournament. All teams play one game against each other for a total of three games, all teams play one game against each other for a total of seven games. The teams with the best records are awarded medals, the tie between Canada, Formosa and Uruguay was broken by the goal averages of the games between those three teams, considering both had 1–1 records against each other
14.
1963 FIBA World Championship
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The 1963 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Brazil. The Philippines was originally supposed to host the tournament but FIBA revoked hosting rights after the country refused to grant visas to players from communist countries, a separate seven nation tournament was hosted by the Philippines instead. Among the teams which was participated are the United States, Canada, the United States won title of the Philippines-hosted tournament. The FIBA World Championship was held in 1963 in Brazil, FIBA suspended the original host country Philippines after Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal refused to allow players from Yugoslavia and other communist countries to enter the host country. Brazil being the defending Champion and a previous host, fairly manage to re-host the Championship, later, the Philippines, despite being the Asian champion, was forced to play in a pre-Olympic tournament in order to qualify in the 1964 Summer Olympics. Preliminary round, Three groups of four teams play each other once, classification round, All bottom two teams from preliminary round group play each other once. The team with the best record is ranked eighth, the worst is ranked 13th, final round, All top two teams from preliminary round group, the 1960 Olympic champion, and the host team play each other once. The team with the best record wins the championship
15.
Volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics
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The volleyball tournaments at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was played between 6 and 21 August. 24 volleyball teams and 48 beach volleyball teams, total 386 athletes, the indoor volleyball competition took place at Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Maracanã, and the beach volleyball tournament was held at Copacabana Beach, in the temporary Copacabana Stadium. The competition consisted of two stages, a preliminary round followed by a knockout stage, the teams were divided into two groups of six countries, playing every team in their group once. Three points were awarded for a 3–0 or 3–1 win, two points for a 3–2 win, one point for a 2–3 loss and 0 points for a 1–3 or 0–3 loss, the top four teams per group qualified for the quarter-finals. The competition consisted of two stages, a Preliminary round followed by a knockout stage, the teams were divided into two groups of six countries, playing every team in their group once. Three points were awarded for a 3–0 or 3–1 win, two points for a 3–2 win, one point for a 2–3 loss and 0 points for a 1–3 or 0–3 loss, the top four teams per group qualified for the quarter-finals
16.
National Olympic Committee
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A National Olympic Committee is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their peoples participation in the Olympic Games and they may nominate cities within their respective areas as candidates for future Olympic Games. NOCs also promote the development of athletes and training of coaches, there are also nine dependent territories with NOCs, Four territories of the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. Three British Overseas Territories, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, one territory from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean, Aruba. The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee was dissolved at the 123rd IOC session in July 2011 as the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist on 10 October 2010, hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. Following an amendment to the Olympic Charter in 1996, NOC recognition can only be granted recognition as an independent state by the international community. The states which thus qualify to participate in the future are the Vatican City, a UN observer state, and Niue, other disputed states face obstacles to being recognized by the IOC. Dependent territories such as Curaçao, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Macau, athletes from those territories can only participate in the Olympics as part of their parent nations national team. This section lists the current,206 National Olympic Committees who are recognised by the International Olympic Committee,8 National Olympic Committees who are recognised by their continental Olympic Associations, but are not recognised by the International Olympic Committee. These committees, however, are not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games, all 22 national governing bodies that form UANOC are also members of both AOC and are eligible to send athletes to either the African or Asian Games. National Olympic Committees from UANOC member countries are noted in the list below, many of these committees were founded many years before their official recognition, while others were immediately accepted after being founded. Former states, are not listed, only the current states derived from them, for example and it was later transformed into the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee, and, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, was re-recognized in 1993. It has, however, participated in the Paralympic Games, the Faroe Islands have a recognised National Paralympic Committee. South Ossetia intends to establish a National Olympic Committee, and representatives from the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic take part in Armenia’s National Olympic Committee, National Paralympic Committee List of IOC country codes District of Columbia Olympic Committee National Olympic Committees. Association of National Olympic Committees website Official website
17.
2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup
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The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle, the next FIBA World Cup will be held five years later, in 2019, to reset the four-year-cycle on a different year than the FIFA World Cup. FIBA opened the process on 10 January 2008 and all the letters of intent were submitted on 30 April 2008. Nine countries showed interest in hosting the event, as in order, they were Spain, France, Denmark, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Italy, Greece, and China. On 23 May 2009, after voting by the FIBA Central Board in Geneva in which the Chinese and Spanish representatives abstained, in the final round, Arvydas Sabonis and Saša Djordjević announced that Spain won the hosting rights with eleven votes as opposed to Italys eight. The Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid was the venue, hosting the final. Amongst venues used in FIBA EuroBasket 2007, the arenas in Granada, Seville, one arena, the Gran Canaria Arena, was the only new venue, being built after the tournament was awarded to Spain. The other cities hosted a group, on 17 April 2010, Barcelona was added to the list of cities to hold games, bringing the total venues to six. This was Barcelonas first time being part of an international event in basketball since the 1997 EuroBasket. Barcelona will host half of the games in the knockout stage, below is a list of the confirmed venues which were used to host games during the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Connor Floor was the supplier of the basketball courts for each of the six sites. There were 24 teams taking part in the 2014 World Cup of Basketball, after the 2012 Olympics, the continental allocation for FIBA Americas was reduced by one when the United States won the Olympic tournament, automatically qualifying them for the 2014 World Cup. But later the FIBA Central Board decided not to trim the list of wild card applicants on their Buenos Aires meeting, making all 15 teams eligible to be selected on the February meeting at Barcelona. On 1 February 2014, FIBA announced that it had allocated the wild cards to Brazil, Finland, Greece and Turkey. The Senegalese federation was suspended due to age fabrication in the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship for Men and for Women. This was the first time the new expanded free throw lane, the restricted arc, the final round was held in two arenas, in the Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid and Palau Sant Jordi, as opposed to a singular arena in 2010. Also, the arrangement of the round of 16 match-ups in the bracket were changed, in 2010, a team from Group A or B can meet a team from Group C or D as early in the quarterfinals, and cannot meet their groupmates until the semifinals. In 2010, the round of 16 games were held in a span of four days, or two matches per day, in 2014, there would be four games per day, finally, the classification round for 5th place was also eliminated
18.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
19.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
20.
Tokyo
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Tokyo, officially Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of its 47 prefectures. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868, Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. The Tokyo metropolitan government administers the 23 Special Wards of Tokyo, the metropolitan government also administers 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the wards is over 9 million people. The prefecture is part of the worlds most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people, the city hosts 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked third in the International Financial Centres Development IndexEdit, the city is also home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon Television, NHK and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Tokyo ranked first in the Global Economic Power Index and fourth in the Global Cities Index. The city is considered a world city – as listed by the GaWCs 2008 inventory – and in 2014. In 2015, Tokyo was named the Most Liveable City in the world by the magazine Monocle, the Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked first in the world in the Safe Cities Index, the 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the 3rd-best city in the world to be a university student. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1979 G-7 summit, the 1986 G-7 summit, and the 1993 G-7 summit, and will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo was originally known as Edo, which means estuary. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called Tōkei, some surviving official English documents use the spelling Tokei. However, this pronunciation is now obsolete, the name Tokyo was first suggested in 1813 in the book Kondō Hisaku, written by Satō Nobuhiro. When Ōkubo Toshimichi proposed the renaming to the government during the Meiji Restoration, according to Oda Kanshi, Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province. Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan, in the twelfth century
21.
Brazil national basketball team
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The Brazil national basketball team represents Brazil in FIBAs basketball competitions. The team is governed by the Brazilian Basketball Confederation, abbreviated as CBB and they have been a member of the International Federation of Basketball since 1935. Brazils basketball team remains among the most successful in the Americas and it is the only team besides the United States that has appeared at every Basketball World Cup since it was first held in 1950. Basketball was initially introduced to Brazil by Professor Augusto Shaw in 1896, in 1912, he began organizing the first state tournament and in 1922 the first national team made its debut at games against Argentina and Uruguay. As in the case of football, South America was initially ahead of the rest of the world, in that decade, Brazilian basketball was supported by professional football clubs, to include it as a new sports section, although amateur in nature. Later, these clubs became professional and supported the team with world-class players. In the following years, Brazil became a regular at international competitions. Its basketball squad participated in the first official basketball tournament at the Summer Olympics 1936 in Berlin, in 1939, the first continental championship was held in Rio de Janeiro. In the 40s, basketball was catching on more layers of society, the sport received the ultimate accolade at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. There, against all odds, the directed by Moacyr Daiuto managed to achieve the bronze medal. The team recorded six wins until it stopped due to the semi-final defeat to France. In the bronze match, Brazil beat Mexico. They managed to feature ten amateur players, the pre-Olympic Brazil concentration was very poor in resources. After its time-consuming journey to London, the team was astonishment when they saw how the U. S. team practiced, Brazil only had two for the whole team. One of the pillars of Brazilian basketball was the boldness of its coaches. The father of all is Togo Renan Soares, Kanela. Working in the shadow of the giant football, Kanela understood that basketball would add more followers if it could offer new emotions. He aimed to get the media involved, so the game was conceived as a spectacle based on its dynamism
22.
2015 FIBA Oceania Championship
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The 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship for Men was the 22nd edition of the tournament. The tournament featured a series between Australia and New Zealand. It also served as the tournament of FIBA Oceania for basketball at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The first game was held in Melbourne, Australia on August 15, followed by the game in Wellington. Australia won both games of the series, and with a score of 160-138, qualified to the 2016 Olympics. With the loss, New Zealand qualified to the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men, All times are local All times are local. Boomers v Tall Blacks - Game 1 - Full Game -2015 FIBA Oceania Championship Tall Blacks v Boomers - Game 2 - Full Game -2015 FIBA Oceania Championship
23.
Australia men's national basketball team
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The Australian mens national basketball team is the mens basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known in Australia as the Boomers, an Australian slang term for a male kangaroo, Australia is currently ranked 10th in the FIBA World Rankings, and finished 4th at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Australia is a power in all forms of basketball. After the formation of the NBL, players began to be selected almost exclusively from that competition during the 1980s and 1990s. This has changed in recent years, with many Australian players heading to the stronger Euroleague to play, and several heading to the National Basketball Association in North America. Two other players who were ruled out of the World Cup due to play in the NBA, namely Andrew Bogut of the Golden State Warriors. Further, several players on national teams are student athletes at the AIS or in the US college basketball system. By the early 21st century, close to half of the squad were playing outside of Australia, the trend of Boomers based outside of Australia has accelerated in the 2010s. The development of the Australian Institute of Sport has helped the establishment of Australia on the international stage, Australia has participated in the most Olympic mens basketball tournaments without winning a medal. Australia debuted on the stage at the 1956 Summer Olympic Games held in Melbourne. Australia did not fare well in the competition, defeating only two sides, and finishing 12th, the seeds were sown for Australia to become a regular team in international events. After not qualifying for the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome, Italy, the Australians improved on their position in Melbourne, to be ranked ninth at the completion of the games. After failing in their bid to qualify for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and they did not play again in a major international tournament until 1970, when the team qualified for the FIBA World Championship for the first time. The team finished in 12th place, with their victory coming over the United Arab Republic. The 1972 Munich Olympic Games was a changing of the guard for the Australians, Lindsay Gaze made his coaching debut, after playing at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Australia again finished ninth, but close defeats to Czechoslovakia and Spain left the close to advancing to the second round. Eddie Palubinskas was the holder of the second highest scoring average of the tournament. The Boomers defeated Mexico, 120–117, in an overtime game, in 1978, the Boomers headed to the Philippines for the 1978 FIBA World Championship
24.
AfroBasket 2015
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AfroBasket 2015 was the 28th edition of the AfroBasket, a mens basketball continental championship of Africa. It also served as the tournament for FIBA Africa at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament in Brazil. The tournament was held in Radès, Tunisia, the winner qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament. Nigeria won their first ever AfroBasket, beating Angola in the final 74–65, chamberlain Oguchi was named tourney MVP. By winning the title, Nigeria automatically qualified for the 2016 Olympics, the next three best-placed teams, Angola, Tunisia, and Senegal, each secured a spot in the final FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Already qualified, AfroBasket 2015 was supposed to have held in the tourist cities of Nabeul. However, due to the attacks in Sousse in June 2015, the venue was moved to Radès, just outside Tunis
25.
Tunisia
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Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa, covering 165,000 square kilometres. Its northernmost point, Cape Angela, is the northernmost point on the African continent and it is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisias population was estimated to be just under 11 million in 2014, Tunisias name is derived from its capital city, Tunis, which is located on Tunisias northeast coast. Geographically, Tunisia contains the end of the Atlas Mountains. Much of the rest of the land is fertile soil. Tunisia is a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic and it is considered to be the only full democracy in the Arab World. It has a human development index. In addition, Tunisia is also a state of the United Nations. Close relations with Europe – in particular with France and with Italy – have been forged through economic cooperation, privatisation, in ancient times, Tunisia was primarily inhabited by Berbers. Phoenician immigration began in the 12th century BC, these immigrants founded Carthage, a major mercantile power and a military rival of the Roman Republic, Carthage was defeated by the Romans in 146 BC. The Romans, who would occupy Tunisia for most of the eight hundred years, introduced Christianity. After several attempts starting in 647, the Arabs conquered the whole of Tunisia by 697, the Ottomans held sway for over three hundred years. The French colonization of Tunisia occurred in 1881, Tunisia gained independence with Habib Bourguiba and declared the Tunisian Republic in 1957. In 2011, the Tunisian Revolution resulted in the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the country voted for parliament again on 26 October 2014, and for President on 23 November 2014. The word Tunisia is derived from Tunis, an urban hub. The present form of the name, with its Latinate suffix -ia, the French derivative Tunisie was adopted in some European languages with slight modifications, introducing a distinctive name to designate the country. Other languages remained untouched, such as the Russian Туни́с and Spanish Túnez, in this case, the same name is used for both country and city, as with the Arabic تونس, and only by context can one tell the difference. The name Tunis can be attributed to different origins and it is generally associated with the Berber root ⵜⵏⵙ, transcribed tns, which means to lay down or encampment
26.
Nigeria national basketball team
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The Nigerian national basketball team represents Nigeria in international competitions. It is overseen by the Nigeria Basketball Federation and it is generally considered to be one of the best national basketball teams in the FIBA Africa zone, along with Angola and Senegal. Nigeria will be ranked 16th in the FIBA World Rankings after the 2016 Olympic Mens Basketball Tournament in Rio, Nigeria is the only African nation to ever qualify for the Summer Olympics through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. This was accomplished at the 2012 Event when Nigeria beat the elite teams of Lithuania. As of 2015, Nigeria is Africas reigning basketball champion, Basketball in Nigeria started in the late 50s by a man named Walid Zabadne. He taught and showed Nigerians how to play the game of basketball in the basketball court in the country at the time located in the Syrian Club. Once the basketball federation in Nigeria was established, Walid would take these young players around Africa to various tournaments, Walid Zabadne eventually became the president of the Nigerian basketball federation and is known as the father of basketball in Nigeria. Nigerias national basketball team joined FIBA in 1964, recently, the team has enjoyed success, due to an increasing amount of talents from Nigeria as well as an orchestrated recruitment of American college and professional players of Nigerian descent. A team dominated by Nigerian-Americans qualified for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, eight players on the team that represented Nigeria at the 2009 FIBA AfroBasket tournament were born in the United States. Nigeria also qualified to the 2012 Summer Olympics, Nigeria took part in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. They were drawn in Group A with Argentina, France, Lebanon, Serbia and Montenegro and they surprisingly finished third in Group A, then were narrowly defeated by Germany in the Round of 16. Overall they finished 14th, as they achieved the record as the defending world champion Serbia. Nigeria competed at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and they finished the group play with a 1–4 record, with their victory coming against Tunisia, making the first ever Olympic game the first ever Olympic victory. 1995,1999,2003,2007,2011,2015,2019, To be determined 2006, 4th 2018, captain Olumide Oyedeji quit the squad due to personal problems. Scroll down to see more. com video
27.
2015 FIBA Americas Championship
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The 2015 FIBA Americas Championship for Men was the FIBA Americas qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament in Brazil. The tournament was held in Mexico City, Mexico, the tournament was won for the first time by the Venezuelan national basketball team. Venezuela and runner-up Argentina qualified directly for the 2016 Olympics, the tournament had great attendance every day, breaking FIBA Americas records and hosted 20,000 people on the third place and final match. The draw was held in Museum of Steel, Fundidora Park, Monterrey and this was how the teams were seeded, All times are local. Finalists qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics, while losing semifinalists qualify to the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men, heissler Guillént Andrew Wiggins Luis Scola Andrés Nocioni Gustavo Ayón Official website
28.
Mexico
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States, to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers, Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area, Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city. Other metropolises include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, pre-Columbian Mexico was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Three centuries later, this territory became Mexico following recognition in 1821 after the colonys Mexican War of Independence. The tumultuous post-independence period was characterized by instability and many political changes. The Mexican–American War led to the cession of the extensive northern borderlands, one-third of its territory. The Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, the dictatorship was overthrown in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the countrys current political system. Mexico has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest by purchasing power parity, the Mexican economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, especially the United States. Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and it is classified as an upper-middle income country by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country by several analysts. By 2050, Mexico could become the fifth or seventh largest economy. The country is considered both a power and middle power, and is often identified as an emerging global power. Due to its culture and history, Mexico ranks first in the Americas. Mexico is a country, ranking fourth in the world by biodiversity. In 2015 it was the 9th most visited country in the world, Mexico is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G8+5, the G20, the Uniting for Consensus and the Pacific Alliance. Mēxihco is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely, the Valley of Mexico, and its people, the Mexica and this became the future State of Mexico as a division of New Spain prior to independence. It is generally considered to be a toponym for the valley became the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance as a result. After New Spain won independence from Spain, representatives decided to name the new country after its capital and this was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Mexica capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan
29.
Mexico City
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Mexico City, or City of Mexico, is the capital and most populous city of Mexico. As an alpha global city, Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in the Americas and it is located in the Valley of Mexico, a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres. The city consists of sixteen municipalities, the 2009 estimated population for the city proper was approximately 8.84 million people, with a land area of 1,485 square kilometres. The Greater Mexico City has a domestic product of US$411 billion in 2011. The city was responsible for generating 15. 8% of Mexicos Gross Domestic Product, as a stand-alone country, in 2013, Mexico City would be the fifth-largest economy in Latin America—five times as large as Costa Ricas and about the same size as Perus. Mexico’s capital is both the oldest capital city in the Americas and one of two founded by Amerindians, the other being Quito. In 1524, the municipality of Mexico City was established, known as México Tenochtitlán, Mexico City served as the political, administrative and financial center of a major part of the Spanish colonial empire. After independence from Spain was achieved, the district was created in 1824. Ever since, the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution has controlled both of them, in recent years, the local government has passed a wave of liberal policies, such as abortion on request, a limited form of euthanasia, no-fault divorce, and same-sex marriage. On January 29,2016, it ceased to be called the Federal District and is now in transition to become the countrys 32nd federal entity, giving it a level of autonomy comparable to that of a state. Because of a clause in the Mexican Constitution, however, as the seat of the powers of the federation, it can never become a state, the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was founded by the Mexica people in 1325. According to legend, the Mexicas principal god, Huitzilopochtli indicated the site where they were to build their home by presenting an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak. Between 1325 and 1521, Tenochtitlan grew in size and strength, eventually dominating the other city-states around Lake Texcoco, when the Spaniards arrived, the Aztec Empire had reached much of Mesoamerica, touching both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. After landing in Veracruz, Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés advanced upon Tenochtitlan with the aid of many of the native peoples. Cortés put Moctezuma under house arrest, hoping to rule through him, the Aztecs thought the Spaniards were permanently gone, and they elected a new king, Cuitláhuac, but he soon died, the next king was Cuauhtémoc. Cortés began a siege of Tenochtitlan in May 1521, for three months, the city suffered from the lack of food and water as well as the spread of smallpox brought by the Europeans. Cortés and his allies landed their forces in the south of the island, the Spaniards practically razed Tenochtitlan during the final siege of the conquest. Cortés first settled in Coyoacán, but decided to rebuild the Aztec site to erase all traces of the old order and he did not establish a territory under his own personal rule, but remained loyal to the Spanish crown
30.
Venezuela national basketball team
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The Venezuela national basketball team is the basketball team that represents Venezuela in international competitions. It is organized and run by the Venezuelan Basketball Federation and they are the defending FIBA Americas champion, after winning the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship. Venezuela qualified for both the 1992 Olympics, and the 2016 Olympics, Venezuela hosted the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the countrys most prestigious basketball event ever. Later, the country hosted the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship. As of 2015, Venezuela is the basketball champion of the Americas
31.
Argentina national basketball team
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The Argentina national basketball team, officially nicknamed El Alma Argentina, represents Argentina in basketball international competitions, and is controlled by the Argentine Basketball Federation. They have also won 13 South American Basketball Championships, as well as many youth championships, the Argentine representative was also the first to defeat a United States national team with a full squad of NBA players. They did so by 87–80 in the 2002 FIBA World Championship held in Indianapolis, in that tournament, Argentina came second behind FR Yugoslavia, losing the final in overtime. Due to the series of results since the beginning of the 2000s. Argentina is a member of the International Federation of Basketball and has South Americas longest basketball tradition. The practice of basketball in Argentina was started by Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes in 1912, canadian Professor Paul Phillip was in charge to teach basketball at the YMCA headquarters in Paseo Colón Avenue, Buenos Aires. The first basketball clubs in Argentina were YMCA, Hindú and Independiente, apart from Buenos Aires, the practise of basketball was highly developed in Bahía Blanca and Córdoba. Argentina played its first international game against Uruguay in 1921, in 1930 the first Campeonato Sudamericano was organised, being Argentina runner-up. The first clubs championship was held in 1936, after the 1948 Olympic Tournament, FIBA decided to create a World Championship, and named Argentina as the host country for the inaugural 1950 edition. The teams coaching staff was formed by Jorge Canavesi as head coach, Casimiro González Trilla as his assistant, the squad, formed entirely by amateur players, trained in preparation for the tournament in River Plates facilities every day in double shifts, something uncommon for the times. The Argentine government negotiated with the employers and studying centers to secure their times. The team played around Oscar Furlong, a center with good mobility, other important players were Ricardo González, Leopoldo Contarbio, Juan Carlos Uder, Raúl Pérez Varela and Roberto Viau. After the World Championship title, Argentina won the medal at the 1951 Pan American Games held in Buenos Aires. The last participation of the 1950s generation was in the 1955 Pan American Games held in Mexico City, with a young and inexperienced team, Argentina finished fourth in the 1958 South American Basketball Championship and 10th in the 1959 FIBA World Championship. In preparation for the 1963 World Championship, Alberto Andrizzi was appointed as head coach and it should be noted that most of the players were amateurs, who alternated the practice of the sport with their jobs and studies. Coach Andrizzi formed a squad that averaged 22.8 years of age, the lowest in the history at the competition. This was also the first time Argentina took a player above the 2 metres of stature to a World Championship, the squad trained 8 days in Villa Allende, Córdoba Province, and played some preparation games against teams from Córdoba and Santa Fe. The delegation that traveled to Brazil had no assistant coach, nor a physician, in the tournament itself, Argentina faced a tough group with Italy, the United States and Mexico
32.
EuroBasket 2015
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FIBA EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th annual edition of the EuroBasket championship that is organised by FIBA Europe. It took place in four different countries, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country and it started on 5 September and ended on 20 September. The top two qualified to the 2016 Summer Olympics. The next five teams advanced to the World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, Latvia and Croatia later qualified due to Serbia and Italy hosting two of the Olympic qualifying tournaments while Turkey also qualified as an invitee. Spain won their third title by defeating Lithuania 80–63 in the final, France won bronze on home soil defeating Serbia. On 18 December 2011, FIBA Europe decided to let Ukraine host EuroBasket 2015, after France, Croatia, Germany and Italy withdrew their joint bid. But later, FIBA Europe was forced to deny reports that Ukraine had given up the rights for EuroBasket 2015 due to the continuous political situation. On 13 June 2014, FIBA Europe officially announced that Ukraine would not be hosting the championships, sixteen countries expressed an initial interest to bid for the relocated event. National Federations were called by FIBA Europe to officially bid for hosting the tournament or parts of the tournament until 31 July 2014, FIBA Europe was scheduled to officially announce the details of the bids after 27 August 2014. Croatia, France, Poland and Turkey bid to host one of the four groups in the Group Phase, additionally, Turkey also bid to host the Final Phase only. All other countries bid to host only one of the four groups in the Group Phase, France would be the hosts of the finals in the knock-out phase in the city of Lille at the multi-functional Stade Pierre-Mauroy, which has a 27,000 capacity for basketball. Qualification for the tournament took place in two phases, the first featured 13 teams who failed to qualify for FIBA EuroBasket 2013, the remaining teams then went into qualification with the remaining FIBA Europe sides. FIBA Europe released the seedings for the EuroBasket 2015 draw on 27 November 2014, the draw took place on 8 December 2014 at 16,00 at Disneyland in Paris, France. France and Croatia, as hosts, were drawn first and the two remaining first seeds, Spain and Lithuania, were drawn separately into the two groups not already with a top-seeded team. These teams would automatically be placed into the group as their chosen partner country. The selections were, France and Finland Germany and Turkey Croatia and Slovenia Latvia and Estonia The best four teams of each advance to the knockout stage. The 5–8th place semifinals losers played in the seventh game to determine the last participant. Official final ranking by FIBA Europe, PG – Sergio Rodríguez SG – Nando de Colo SF – Jonas Mačiulis PF – Pau Gasol C – Jonas Valančiūnas
33.
Lithuania men's national basketball team
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The Lithuania mens national basketball team is the representative for Lithuania in FIBAs competitions of basketball. Despite Lithuanias small size, with a population of just almost 2.9 million, the Lithuanian team won the last EuroBasket tournaments prior to World War II, in 1937 and 1939. The 1939 team was led by Frank Lubin, who helped popularize basketball in the country and was called the Grandfather of Lithuanian Basketball, following the countrys annexation by the Soviet Union during the war, Lithuanian players frequently formed the core of the Soviet national team. After the restoration of Lithuanian independence in 1990, the team was resurrected. The Lithuanian team won the FIBA EuroBasket for the time in 2003. On 13 December 1925 in Latvian capital Riga, Lithuanians played their first international game against their neighbors, given the Latvians had international knowledge provided by coaches of the American YMCA, they easily won 41–20. Later on, Latvians were crushing the future three-times European champions Lithuanians as well, another game the following year was won by the Latvians 47–12. During the period, basketball saw its Lithuanian popularity decrease and get overshadowed by football, the cold climate and lack of suitable indoor arena only allowed for basketball to be played during the summer period, and even then those who practiced preferred other sports. In 1935, Lithuania decided to promote a World Lithuanian Congress in temporary capital Kaunas, the following year, a delegation of Lithuanian American athletes from Chicago arrived in Kaunas as participants of World Lithuanian Congress. Two of the players, Juozas Joseph Zukas and Konstantinas Konnie Savickus, stayed to teach basketball secrets to Lithuanians, while Savickus had returned to America, another descendant of Lithuanians would arrive to aid the countrys basketball rise. Frank Lubin, who won a medal at the first basketball Olympic tournament at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, was invited to visit the Baltic nation by an Lithuanian official in attendance. Going by the Lithuanian name Pranas Lubinas, he spent five months there and served as the countrys first knowledgeable coach, Lubinas, along with Zukas, helped the Lithuanians beat the Latvians for the first time,35 to 27. The preparations for the EuroBasket 1937 started slowly, with players training only 4 hours a week, after a telegram was sent to the USA, two players arrived one month prior to the tournament, Pranas Talzūnas and Feliksas Kriaučiūnas, the latter of whom was designated as player-coach. The national team was being prepared not only technically, but also physically, the efforts were successful - the Lithuanians became the champions of Europe for the first time, defeating all their opponents and with Talzūnas being picked as the tournaments most valuable player. The crowd then rose to their feet and together sang the Lithuanian anthem, the team returned to a warm reception, with thousands gathering at a train station in a way Kriaučiūnas compared to like we, here in America, greet the president. Basketball regained its ground immediately, and had its popularity rise abruptly, especially among students, gymnasium teams from almost all counties competed in student games, teams were assembled in firms and basketball courts appeared all around the country. According to future player Stepas Butautas, In every yard hoops are being made from barrels, children, teenagers are throwing balls into them, others - even a sock crammed with clouts. Our Veršvai Primary School teacher K. Požemecka built two poles, made hoops from a willow and said, We will play basketball, future team coach Vladas Garastas added that as kids we started using a barrel to make a hoop
34.
2015 FIBA Asia Championship
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The 2015 FIBA Asia Championship for Men was the 28th continental basketball championship in Asia. The tournament was organised by FIBA Asia, at the FIBA Asia Congress held in Doha, Qatar, the Central Board awarded the hosting rights to China. On 4 December 2014, the Chinese Basketball Association acquired approval from FIBA Asia to hold the championship at Changsha, Hunan, with the womens championship to be held at Wuhan. The 2015 edition was the last FIBA Asia Championship, as starting in 2017, it will be rebranded as the FIBA Asia Cup, according to the FIBA Asia rules, the host nation China and 2014 FIBA Asia Cup champions Iran automatically qualified. East Asia, West Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Persian Gulf each had two berths while Central Asia and South Asia each had one slot allotted, the other four places are allocated to the zones according to performance in the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup. Changsha has been chosen by the Chinese Basketball Association as the host of the mens championship, Changsha Social Work Colleges gymnasium was chosen as the primary stadium, while Central South University of Forestry and Technologys gymnasium was the auxiliary stadium. The draw was held at Changsha on 27 June 2015, two teams that were unknown at the date of the draw, the South Asia qualifier and the last remaining team from East Asia were known a short time after. The top four teams from 2013 were seeded, all teams except the host team were drawn. By the time there were three teams in each group, China chose their group, then the remaining three unseeded teams are drawn. Included are the teams FIBA World Rankings on the day the draw was made, * Later determined as India and Hong Kong, respectively. Each team has a roster of twelve players, a team may opt to allocate a roster spot to a naturalized player. Preliminary round, The sixteen teams were grouped into four groups of four, each team played all of the teams from its group once. The top three teams with the best record advanced to the second round, second round, The qualified teams from groups A and B formed Group E, while those from Groups C and D formed Group F. The results against the teams that had also qualified were carried over, the teams played the teams from the group they had not faced before. The top four teams each group proceeded to the final round. Classification round, Teams eliminated in the round will figure in a single elimination tournament with consolation games to play for 13th place. Teams eliminated in the round will figure in a single elimination tournament with consolation games to play for 9th place. Final round, The remaining teams shall figure in an elimination tournament with consolation games
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China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
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Changsha
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Changsha is the capital of Hunan province, south central China. It covers 11,819 km2 and is bordered by Yueyang and Yiyang to the north, Loudi to the west, Xiangtan and Zhuzhou to the south, Yichun and Pingxiang of Jiangxi province to the east. According to 2010 Census, Changsha has 7,044,118 residents and it has a moist monsoon climate of the subtropical zone. The average annual air temperature is 16. 8–17.3 °C, Changsha is famous for that it was the capital of Changsha State in the Han Dynasty, and the capital of Chu State in Ten Kingdoms period. The lacquerware and Silk Texts recovered from Mawangdui there are an indication of the richness of local craft traditions, in 1904, Changsha was opened to foreign trade, and large numbers of Europeans and Americans settled there. Changsha was the site of Mao Zedongs conversion to communism and it was also the scene of major battles in the Sino-Japanese War and was briefly occupied by the Japanese. Nowadays, Changsha is an important commercial, manufacturing and transportation center in China, the origins of the name Changsha are lost in antiquity. In the 2nd century AD, historian Ying Shao wrote that the Qin dynasty use of the name Changsha for the area was a continuance of its old name, archeologial evidence provides evidence of settlement 150,000 to 200,000 BC. Development occurred drastically closer to 3000BC when Changsha developed with the proliferation of Longshan culture, despite this, pottery and bronze ware have been discovered. In the Central Plain region during the Zhou and Shang dynasties, Sima Qian writes in his Records of the Grand Historian Huangdi, loving his Shaohao, gave him a parcel of land, an area amounted to Changsha and surrounding land. Evidence exists that people lived and thrived in the area during the Bronze Age, numerous examples of pottery and items of interest were discovered and recovered. Changsha entered a time of turmoil, eastern Zhous collapse swept in turmoil with the Spring and Autumn Period. The Yue culture spread and took a stronghold through the region, during the height of the Warring States Period, the Chu Kingdom took a hardline nationalist and reform approach and took a large-scale military operations in South China. Chu Kingdom took control of Changsha and turned the city into an important part of the part of Chu. After years of war and occupation, Changsha slowly replaced Yue culture with Chu culture, nobles created tombs and got buried in tombs. In 1951-1957, archaeologists explored numerous large and medium-sized Chu tombs from the warring states era, there have been more than 3,000 tombs discovered of various people. The coming of Chu brought a lot of tools and production experience, massive changes quickly propelled Changsha through the Iron Age and into the feudal age of society. The city is sometimes called Qingyang in Warring States period texts, the slow wearing of time, turbulence, and turmoil weakened the Changsha and the region
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China men's national basketball team
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The Chinese mens national basketball team is the national basketball team of the Peoples Republic of China and is governed by the Chinese Basketball Association. Based on the number of tournament titles, China is considered a basketball powerhouse in Asia and has by far the most successful basketball program there. China has traditionally been the powerhouse in Asia and has won the FIBA Asia Championship 14 out of 16 times from 1975 to 2005. However, the team failed to defend its championship at the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship. The national team has struggled against other top flight non-Asian teams. However, in recent years, China has shown they can beat the top European teams, in the 2004 Athens Olympics, China, coached by Del Harris, advanced to the final eight after a 67–66 win over defending world champion Serbia and Montenegro. In 2008, some questions surrounded whether the recently injured Yao Ming would still captain the squad, in mid-July, it was confirmed that he would still continue to be the captain. In recent years, the team has faced major struggles with injuries. In 2008, top National Basketball Association prospect Xu Yong was forced to end his career at age 19 after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma. In December 2010, Yao was diagnosed with a fracture in his left ankle – the injury is related to the ankle sprain that he suffered earlier that year. Speculations arose whether Chinas basketball icon would ever be able to play again, when Yaos retirement was finally announced in July 2011 it was considered a big blow to the national team, whose success had largely depended on the star player for many years. Yet, critics have been optimistic that China will continue to improve on its international performances. Sure enough, in 2016, a new era of Chinese stars would begin to form, as new NBA draftees in Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin would gain considerable amounts of attention for their successes in China. com video
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Serbia
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Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a sovereign state situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. Relative to its territory, it is a diverse country distinguished by a transitional character, situated along cultural, geographic, climatic. Serbia numbers around 7 million residents, and its capital, Belgrade, following the Slavic migrations to the Balkans from the 6th century onwards, Serbs established several states in the early Middle Ages. The Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by Rome and the Byzantine Empire in 1217, in the early 19th century, the Serbian Revolution established the nation-state as the regions first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia formed a union with Montenegro which dissolved peacefully in 2006, in 2008 the parliament of the province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, with mixed responses from the international community. Serbia is a member of organizations such as the UN, CoE, OSCE, PfP, BSEC. An EU membership candidate since 2012, Serbia has been negotiating its EU accession since January 2014, the country is acceding to the WTO and is a militarily neutral state. Serbia is an income economy with dominant service sector, followed by the industrial sector. The country ranks high on the Social Progress Index as well as the Global Peace Index, relatively high on the Human Development Index, located at the crossroads between Central and Southern Europe, Serbia is found in the Balkan peninsula and the Pannonian Plain. Serbia lies between latitudes 41° and 47° N, and longitudes 18° and 23° E. The country covers a total of 88,361 km2, which places it at 113th place in the world, with Kosovo excluded, the area is 77,474 km2. Its total border length amounts to 2,027 km, all of Kosovos border with Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro are under control of the Kosovo border police. The Pannonian Plain covers the third of the country while the easternmost tip of Serbia extends into the Wallachian Plain. The terrain of the part of the country, with the region of Šumadija at its heart. Mountains dominate the third of Serbia. Dinaric Alps stretch in the west and the southwest, following the flow of the rivers Drina, the Carpathian Mountains and Balkan Mountains stretch in a north–south direction in eastern Serbia. Ancient mountains in the southeast corner of the country belong to the Rilo-Rhodope Mountain system, elevation ranges from the Midžor peak of the Balkan Mountains at 2,169 metres to the lowest point of just 17 metres near the Danube river at Prahovo. The largest lake is Đerdap Lake and the longest river passing through Serbia is the Danube, the climate of Serbia is under the influences of the landmass of Eurasia and the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
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Belgrade
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Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and its name translates to White city. The urban area of the City of Belgrade has a population of 1.34 million, one of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region, and after 279 BC Celts conquered the city and it was conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus, and awarded city rights in the mid-2nd century. In 1521, Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of the Sanjak of Smederevo and it frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841, northern Belgrade remained the southernmost Habsburg post until 1918, when the city was reunited. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars, Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia from its creation in 1918, to its final dissolution in 2006. Belgrade has an administrative status within Serbia and it is one of five statistical regions of Serbia. Its metropolitan territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each with its own local council, City of Belgrade covers 3. 6% of Serbias territory, and 22. 5% of the countrys population lives within its administrative limits. It is classified as a Beta- global city, chipped stone tools found at Zemun show that the area around Belgrade was inhabited by nomadic foragers in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras. Some of these belong to the Mousterian industry, which are associated with Neanderthals rather than modern humans. Aurignacian and Gravettian tools have also discovered there, indicating occupation between 50,000 and 20,000 years ago. The first farming people to settle in the region are associated with the Neolithic Starčevo culture, there are several Starčevo sites in and around Belgrade, including the eponymous site of Starčevo. The Starčevo culture was succeeded by the Vinča culture, a more sophisticated farming culture that grew out of the earlier Starčevo settlements which is named for a site in the Belgrade region. Evidence of early knowledge about Belgrades geographical location comes from ancient myths, the rock overlooking the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers has been identified as one of the place in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. The Paleo-Balkan tribes of Thracians and Dacians ruled this area prior to the Roman conquest, Belgrade was inhabited by a Thraco-Dacian tribe Singi, after the Celtic invasion in 279 BC, the Scordisci took the city, naming it Singidūn. In 34–33 BC the Roman army led by Silanus reached Belgrade, jovian reestablished Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, ending the brief revival of traditional Roman religions under his predecessor Julian the Apostate. In 395 AD, the passed to the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire
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Philippines
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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. The Philippines has an area of 300,000 square kilometers, and it is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. As of 2013, approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas, multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelagos earliest inhabitants and they were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic nations occurred, then, various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization, in 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion, during this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution. It is a member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte, eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other such as Islas del Poniente. The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history, during the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the name Philippines began to appear, since the end of World War II, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines. The metatarsal of the Callao Man, reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago is the oldest human remnant found in the archipelago to date and this distinction previously belonged to the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 26,500 years ago. Negritos were also among the archipelagos earliest inhabitants, but their first settlement in the Philippines has not been reliably dated, there are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos
Gold medalists
Silver medalists
Bronze medalists
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Spain
United States
Tokyo
Brazil
Australia
Radès
Nigeria
Mexico City
Venezuela
Argentina
Lithuania
Changsha
Belgrade[3]
Pasay[3]
France
Turin[3]
Croatia
Turkey
Edmonton
Yaoundé
Senegal
Belarus
United States
Serbia
Spain
