If their win over Australia gives them plenty of confidence for Sunday, Serbia can also take stock in the fact they played Team USA extremely close in the group stage, when they were a wide-open Bogdan Bogdanovic three-pointer at the buzzer away from tying the game up and sending it into overtime.
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For the Aussies, it’s more Olympic heartbreak.
Krzyzewski will be coaching his final game for the US, set to be replaced by Gregg Popovich after Rio.
“It wasn’t as easy as sometimes it looked, these last two games especially with France and today against Spain”, Auriemma continued. Because of our depth and because of the experience that we have on our team, we were able to separate ourselves.
With that kind of sustained success, no one wants to say this is the best women’s basketball team ever assembled.
“But the way we played, we respected the opponents and we respected the game itself, and we earned a lot of respect from, I think, a lot of people around the world and I’m really proud of that”, Auriemma said.
“You can talk about the 100-point games and the margin of victory, but we played our butts off”, Bird said. “I think the attitude and example they set is probably one that the next group is going to benefit from more than anything else”.
The United States will put its 24-game Olympic winning streak on the line on Sunday against Serbia as they compete in the gold medal game.
“It’s pretty incredible”, said Taurasi, the 34-year-old guard led the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game over eight contests.
United States women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma surveyed his team Saturday afternoon and picked out a natural comparison for Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings and Diana Taurasi – four-time Olympians, four-time Olympic gold medalists. In winning the Americans’ sixth consecutive gold medal, they never appeared challenged. “We play year round”.
Which brings us to the tune-in details! Taurasi has played in both Turkey and Russian Federation.
Australia and Spain will meet for the bronze, with Australia seeking its first Olympic medal in men’s basketball. The Serbians’ defense was nothing short of spectacular, as they held the Boomers to five (YES FIVE!) points in the first quarter, and just 14 at halftime. “I think that’s a sign of a true champion, someone who loves the game and plays for the right reasons”.
Claressa Shields is 76-1 in her boxing career, which has seen her win the 2012 Olympic gold medal and two world championships as a middleweight. I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness. Caster Semenya of South Africa won the Olympic title in the 800 meters with no one close to challenging her. Mo Farah of Britain became the first runner in 40 years to win back-to-back long-distance doubles at the Olympics by taking gold in the men’s 5,000 meters.
Delle Donne is the reigning WNBA Most Valuable Player with the Chicago Sky. This wasn’t the medal they wanted, but they’ll take it. “From the very first game that we played to today, with very few exceptions, I thought we played basketball at a really high level”.
Breanna Stewart, who finished with 11 points, pushed the U.S. into triple digits with the USA’s last field goal with 35 seconds remaining to make it 101-70. “Missing my last dive – it has been a struggle during the entire Olympic Games – it was nearly mine to lose, but to know that I can miss a dive and still be a bronze medalist is special”. “We made history”, said Spanish coach Lucas Mondelo.
The United States men’s national team has a clear talent advantage over the rest of the field, and if the team plays its best on Sunday it will defeat Serbia.
Spain never seriously threatened in the second half, but it was due in no small part to Thompson’s efforts that the Americans kept the Spaniards at arm’s length.
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Women’s bronze medal match: Serbia vs France 70-63.
