MIES (Switzerland) - While the various men's teams took to the floor for their ninth edition of the Olympics, the headline in Montreal during 1976 was very much the debut of women's basketball at the Games.

It may have taken longer than it should have, but thanks to the tenacity of FIBA and the Women's Commission, women's basketball did make its debut in Canada, making it a powerful FIBA 90 iconic moment.

A total of six women's teams participated in the first Olympic Basketball Tournament for Women, with the Soviet Union, USA, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Japan and host nation Canada all having the honor and competing against each other in a single round-robin group format.

Latvian legend Semjonova was on fire for the Soviet Union and at times, unguardable in Montreal

The outcome was perhaps to be expected as the Soviet Union, who were the dominant team in women's basketball at the time, strode their way to the gold medal with an eye-catching undefeated record.

They were led by their FIBA Hall of Fame center, Uljana Semjonova. Virtually unstoppable, her 19 points per game paced the champions' campaign. She was especially superior in her team's matchup against the United States, leading the way with a stellar 32 points and 19 rebounds in a 112-77 triumph.

The Soviet team also had outstanding talents like Tatyana Ovechkina, Nadezhda Shuvayeva-Olkhova and Olga Leonidovna Sukharnova. Plus, they had not lost a major international game since 1958, so their success was not exactly a shock.

The USA team had many legends in their lineup but had to settle for silver in Montreal

The Montreal Games had icons on other teams that reached the podium as well. One of the players in the USA side that claimed the silver medal was the late Pat Summitt, whose fame grew even more as the finest American women's coach of her era. That first USA Olympic lineup also had the outstanding center Lusia Harris, who led the team in scoring, as well as Ann Myers and Nancy Lieberman.

Even Bulgaria had one of their legendary greats as they captured the bronze medal thanks mainly to FIBA Hall of Fame entrant, Penka Stoyanova.

Meanwhile, the men's competition witnessed USA recapture the crown they had lost four years earlier. Having won the first seven Olympic titles on offer, the Soviet Union disrupted that winning streak in 1972, but the USA reacted with another top of the podium finish.

Winning all seven games they played, Adrian Dantley led the scoring for the champion with more than 19 points per game, while Scott May also impressed with 16.7 points per outing. Dantley dropped 30 points in the title game as USA shot down Yugoslavia 95-75.

USA were flawless in Montreal and won an eight title for their nation in nine Olympic editions

With Yugoslavia taking silver and writing a big note of history with a first medal and Final appearance, it was left for the deposed champions Soviet Union to mop up and take the last podium step.

FIBA