Monday, August 11, 2008

USA Crushes China although Slow Start caused worries

For the audience of 1 billion watching and China trying to pull off the greatest upset in Olympic Basketball history it was heartning for the Chinese dominated supporters to find them at one stage tied at 29-29. At that stage the Redeem team had yet to find their groove but playing the suffocating Full Court pressure Defense Mike krzyzewski is known for Team USA pulled away with a 20-8 run that closed the half for the US, giving them decisive control of the game. In the third the lead balloneed as the Chinese proved horrible finishing around the rim. Chinese turnovers and missed shots became open court plays for the US which yielded dunks and open layups. Missed shots by Yi and Yao then became the norm. Moving away from the recap Dwayne Wade was a perfect 7-7 from the Field and blew by his opposing Guard regulary but LeBron was the star he simply did things on a court that boggle the mind. His block below was play of the game.




Despite not getting as much hype as some of the other games, the most important first day game was Croatia’s 97-82 win over Australia. In each group three teams are almost sure to advance and one will be lucky to win a game. China and Germany will be fighting for one quarterfinal sport while Croatia and Australia will be dueling for the other.

The Aussies now need to upset Russia, Lithuania or Argentina and hope for an upset or help from a tie-breaker.

In the other two marquee games of the night, Spain overwhelmed Greece 81-66 with their array of NBA talent and a 15-2 run. Linas Kleiza’s 3-pointer with 2.1 left in the game broke a 75 all tie between Lithuania and Argentina, registering the first upset of this tournament.

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