At just over three minutes to go, the game sat locked at 11-11, with neither team able to break the deadlock. It took over a minute before a score was registered, and it was, once again, the Germans with a two-point shot to inch 11-13 ahead.

An exchange of one point for either side followed before Germany struck once more from the outside to go up 12-16 with 56 seconds left on the clock.

In the 3×3 format, the winner is either the first team to 21 points or the one with the lead after 10 minutes. After one last exchange of one-point shots, the game was decided: Germany were victorious.

It is a less than ideal start for the defending champions, but they will take solace knowing that the unit that won in Tokyo three years ago also dropped a game in pool play.

Van Lith, too, was a bright spark for the US. The youngest player on the roster finished with six points and three rebounds in 6:57 minutes of play.

They will now hunt their first win in their second game against Azerbaijan, tipping off Wednesday evening.

The US men, meanwhile, will begin their pursuit of gold at their first-ever Olympics later today in a rematch of the 2023 World Cup final against world number-one side Serbia.