NBCSN will broadcast this matchup on Friday afternoon, but the game will be simulcast on the Olympics Basketball Channel. Spain will try to pull off a major upset this Friday in the semifinals against the United States. “We’re ready for the gold-medal game”. The gold-medal game is on Sunday. Can they keep it rolling against a quality Spain team.
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“We have ultimate respect for Spain”, US coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
US center Brittney Griner (15) grabs a rebound against France point guard Olivia Epoupa (22) during the women’s basketball semifinals in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1 on August 18. Serbia beat Australia 87-61 in the second semifinal.
“We believe”, centre Andrew Bogut said. And up until the win over Argentina, it didn’t look like that stopping power was ever going to manifest itself. The U.S. was just good enough again against Spain, with bodies falling more than shots and several technical fouls keeping the teams from finding an offensive flow.
It was the lowest-scoring game for the Americans in the Olympics since the 2004 semifinals, when they managed 81 in a loss to Argentina. Durant added eight rebounds while center DeAndre Jordan led the team with 16 boards to go along with four blocks.
Kevin Durant with 14 points and Kyrie Irving with 13 were also in double digits for the Americans. Fueled by length, athleticism and versatility, the US should have made good on Coach K’s contention a long time ago. They have made no secret they think they are capable of gold.
“It’s going to mean a lot”, said US forward Angel McCoughtry.
“They are not playing as well as other times they’ve played, but they are still a very talented team individually”, Gasol said. All of these games we have to work for it, we have to earn it.
The Americans have been strong on offense throughout the tournament, as would be expected with the level of talent that they have. Serbia and France both surpassed 90 points against them and Australia scored 88, as the team with 10 Olympic newcomers took longer than hoped in grasping global offenses. Sergio Llull and Sergio Rodriguez will need to lead the way in the backcourt, which will in turn open up the floor for the likes of Nikola Mirotic and Pau Gasol-if the latter even plays. But Spain was able to keep the gap from getting any bigger and chipped away at it in the final minutes, the margin ending up smaller than in the previous matchups.
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This was a rather ragged affair that lacked flow, especially early, thanks to a bunch of whistles and five first-half technical fouls. One of them, on Durant, gave him a third foul, as technicals also count as personal fouls in global play.
