02-09-2007
Sep 2, 2007 at 5:25 am |
lebron-james •
usa-basketballIn the game that defined the last spot available for Beijing 2008, United States faced Puerto Rico and what’s been the history throughout the tournament, repeated itself. At the end, USA remained undefeated with record of 9-0, and became, with Argentina, one of the only two teams from the Americas with tickets to the Olympic Games Beijing 2008. The USA nailed 23 3-pointers. Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points, Michael Redd had 23, LeBron James added 19 points and nine assists, Kobe Bryant scored 15 points, and the three stars keyed a dominant third quarter stretch. Then they headed to the bench, where they sat while fans chanted their names in the final minutes. Overall, so much has improved from a year ago, from team chemistry to team humility to outside shooting. They’ll be the favorite going into the Beijing Olympics a year from now, but they’re still going to be tested at least couple of times when they get there, and we still have not seen how they’ll respond if they fall behind. Tpday, USA will face Argentina (4:00 p.m. Pacific Time), in the game for the gold medal. Hours before, Puerto Rico will face Brazil tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. (Pacific Time).
