Spain has been having a banner year athletically. Rafael Nadal not only has become the world's number one ranked player in tennis, he's in the tennis singles gold medal match. A Spaniard won the Tour De France. Spain won the Euro soccer championship and are the defending FIBA men's world basketball champs. But in these Games so far, when it comes to basketball, Americans rule.
The USA men did something for the first time in these Games. They finally lit somebody up from three point range and it couldn't have come at a better time.
A Group B showdown game that was supposed to be a stiff test for Team USA turned into a 119-82 blowout thanks to lethal 12 of 25 (48%) shooting from behind the shorter FIBA arc. They've only been shooting 29% for the tournament so far, but hit their first seven three pointers as every Team USA player scored for the first time in these Games. LeBron James had 18 points, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony each chipped in 16 points, Chris Paul tallied 14, with Kobe Bryant and Deron Williams both chipping in 11 as Team USA moved to 4-0 in pool play.
Team USA has a final group match with Dirk Nowitzki and Germany before heading to the quarterfinals. They will face the number 4 team from Group A, either Australia or Croatia. If they keep winning, they will not face either Group A leader Lithuania or Spain again until the gold medal game.
The women beat Spain Friday, but it was a little tougher slog for them. Despite opening the game with a 19-4 run and holding Spain scoreless for 7:30, they fought back to trim the early Team USA advantage to 22-17 at the end of the first quarter and only had a five point halftime lead. Team USA also had a scare when Lisa Leslie went to the bench with a minor hip injury. They tightened the defensive screws and opened the third quarter with a 20-5 run to take control of the game. Lisa Leslie had 14 points to go with her 11 rebounds while Tina Thompson chipped in 17. Diana Taurasi tallied 12 points while Candace Parker added 13 to help Team USA subdue Spain 93-55 and go 4-0 in Group B play. Former Houston Comet Amaya Valdemoro tallied 17 for 2-2 Spain.
It was the 29th straight win in Olympic competition for Team USA. Their last Olympic loss was to the Unified Team during the semifinals of the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Team USA will play their final group match against New Zealand before moving on to the quarterfinals to take on the number four team from Group A.
