President of the International Olympic Committee a minute of silence to be held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Munich Games attack during the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics, despite the standing request of the families of the 11 Israeli Olympic team members who were held hostage and murdered by the Palestinian group Black September. Calls for such a commemoration marking 40 years since the massacre had also come from Jewish organizations worldwide and politicians from the United States, Israel, Canada, Italy, Australia and Germany. He and the IOC instead opted for a smaller ceremony in London that took place on 6
Basketball at the 1972 Summer Olympics at the previous tournament. Additional spots were decided by various continental tournaments held by FIBA plus an additional pre-Olympic tournament that granted two extra berths. Tie-breaking criteria: The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, while the remaining teams compete for 5th through 16th places in separate brackets. 5th–8th place 9th–12th place 13th–16th place Basketball at the 1972 Summer Olympics Basketball contests at the 1972 Summer Olympics took place at Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Munich, Germany from August 27 to September 9. The Soviet Union won the gold medal, after a controversial gold medal game against the United States.