It was similar to the meeting between the teams in Chicago on July 29, when the US shot poorly and still won by 35 on their pre-Rio exhibition tour. Australia has never won an Olympic medal in men’s basketball.
Advertisement
Although the first quarter ended with both teams tied at 18, the US were able to find their rhythm in the final three periods to outscore Venezuela 95-51.
The team will face against Australia on Wednesday. The team now has 2-0 standing in Rio. “I wanted that race back”.
Another slow Rio Olympics start for the American NBA stars ended with the same result, a lopsided victory for the U.S. millionaires on Monday as they seek a third consecutive title.
In addition to the whole country cheering them on, Phelps and his teammates had some pretty high-profile fans, including the US men’s basketball team, many of whom were in the stands.
Late in the game, after George crushed a dunk to put the USA up by 43, Jordan boogied again on the sideline. “Melo made that three and it gave us all confidence”. Also when the 2016 Summer Olympics come to an end, Anthony will likely have scored the most career points in USA Olympic history. Many more to go!
The most notable players from yesterday’s game were Paul George who recorded 20 points, Kevin Durant who scored 16 points and dished out 5 assists, and DeAndre Jordan who scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.
John Cox, a 35-year-old guard, scored 19 points to lead Venezuela.
Although this may not be the best made-in-America team as James, Stephen Curry and others chose to skip the Rio Games, the US squad that came to Brazil appears to be in a class by itself.
“You go through adversity no matter what on the court, and those guys, they attacked us early, got us in foul trouble and slowed the game down”.
Advertisement
Venezuela, which doesn’t have an National Basketball Association player on its roster, didn’t figure to be a threat but the FIBA Americas champion wasn’t intimidated by the US roster of household names. He took a charge with 38.4 seconds remaining and Venezuela holding a one-point lead.
