President of the International Olympic Committee Germany, to continue the Games following the Black September Palestinian terrorist attack which killed eleven Israeli athletes. While some criticized Brundage's decision—including "L.A. Times" columnist Jim Murray, who wrote "Incredibly, they're going on with it. It's almost like having a dance at Dachau")—most did not, and few athletes withdrew from the Games. The Olympic competition was suspended on 5 September for one complete day. The next day, a memorial service of eighty thousand spectators and three thousand athletes was held in the Olympic Stadium. Brundage gave an address in which he stated: Brundage strongly opposed the exclusion of Rhodesia from
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.