“When I saw my teammates get excited for me, that kept me going”.
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“What’s done is done”, Anthony, the elder statesman of the team, said of the matter. If you are a die-hard U.S. basketball fan, this game is definitely something that you should not miss.
During the Team USA exhibition games, USA and China already faced off against one another and it was a huge blowout. Team USA defeated China 106-57 and 107-57 in back-to-back games, an average margin of victory of 49.5 points. “Our target before the game was to try to get things better. I mean, really good”, Krzyzewski said.
Next game for the United States is slotted to be on August 8th, when they play against Venezuela.
He said he was upset about missing it, adding “that would have been my (third) if I played in that one”. The Americans’ ferocious defense and overwhelming athleticism made it hard for China to even execute simple basketball plays, and defense turned into offense again and again. The Americans may have seemed vulnerable when James, Curry and a number of other superstars declined to play, but the players who did accept invites have had a few weeks to work on getting better on the court and getting along off it.
France beat Turkey 55-39, Canada overcame China 90-68, Japan edged Belarus 77-73 and Australia beat hosts Brazil 84-66. So it goes up.
The last time the China and the U.S. clashed on the Olympic stage was 2008 in Beijing in an intriguing matchup played in front of a standing room only crowd that included U.S. President George W. Bush and an estimated one billion television viewers.
Tony Parker, one of 10 National Basketball Association players on the court – five on each team – scored a team-high 18 for France – 16 in the second quarter.
He will become the first three-time gold medallist should his country emerge victorious.
They gathered on July 23 and coach Geno Auriemma said Tuesday was the first real practice they’ve had.
Almost 50 National Basketball Association (NBA) athletes participate in Rio, of which only 12 play for the US.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s boys actually started slow, having only a two-point lead in the opening minutes, 6-4, before they turned on the ignition and made it a 22-6 lead with five minutes left in the first period. The Chinese and American Olympic basketball teams fought in two previous exhibition games.
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Not to mention the difficulty many basketball players must have literally fitting into the Olympic Village accommodations. “Come out this first game and let everybody know that we’re focused, we’re locked in and we’re about business on this trip”.
