USA Basketball: Argentina ends U.S.' chances at gold with ease

cheapie · 08-27-2004, 12:45 PM

Losers

ATHENS, Greece -- -- For the first time since NBA players began playing in the Olympics in 1992, the U.S. men's basketball team will not come home with the gold.

Argentina outshot, outhustled and outclassed the Americans in the semifinals on Friday, rolling to a convincing 89-81 victory in Athens. The U.S. will have to settle playing for bronze, and will face the loser of the Italy-Lithuania game.

The U.S. had all kinds of trouble containing Argentina sharpshooter Manu Ginobili, who scored a team-high 29 points. With deadly accuracy from beyond the 3-point arc, Argentina never trailed in the second half, leading by as many as 16 points. The closest the Americans would get was six points.

Tim Duncan, perhaps the U.S.' best player in the tournament, fouled out with five minutes remaining, ending the Americans' chances at gold.

Prior to Athens, the U.S. was 109-2 in Olympic competition. The loss to Argentina was the Americans' third loss in Greece in only seven games.

gear02 · 08-27-2004, 01:50 PM

I'm surprised, but not shocked or stunned. I knew this was coming, even though I hoped they would play through it. Compared to the crappy world championship team we had, this team was a hard working team. They just didn't have the skillset necessary to compete AS A TEAM in the international world of basketball.

I hope this serves as a wake up call to the STUPID people who picked this team to begin with. They needed big men and shooters, and instead they got tons of small forwards who try to cut through to the net, which doesn't work in international basketball.

I think people will also blame those who didn't bother to show up. Yeah, they should get part of the blame, but when it was clear that a "dream team" could not be formed (KG, Shaq, Kobe, Kidd, etc.), those in power should have decided to form a TEAM based on requirements, not on pure talent alone.

Jihforce · 08-27-2004, 02:44 PM

Ginobili light then up for 29 pts. I noticed something from the box scores. Going 32 for 77 ain't going to win you squat when your opponent is shooting 32 for 59.

DarkFury · 08-27-2004, 02:44 PM

Oh well... Th-th-th-th-th That's all Folks....

verve247 · 08-27-2004, 02:57 PM

This should be in the suckage forum.

DarkFury · 08-27-2004, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by verve247

This should be in the suckage forum.

Shoulda been there a LONG time ago.... too late now.

ialsohaveadream · 08-27-2004, 03:29 PM

Now they get to play Lithuania for the bronze. They might not even medal at all.

DarkFury · 08-27-2004, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ialsohaveadream

Now they get to play Lithuania for the bronze. They might not even medal at all.

That would be the icing on the cake...

Crumb cake... that is.

kei2 · 08-28-2004, 01:17 AM

I hope they don't get the bronze. They need a real kick in the pants so whoever is picking these teams gets it through their thick skulls that it's a bad idea to pick one like this. They have point guards that play like shooting guards, shooting guards and small forwards that can't shoot, and no good big men besides TD. And, as many have pointed out before me, they can't play team ball. This is pathetic. Might as well have sent the And1 team. Still no medal, but it'd be a lot more entertaining.

xsiled2 · 08-28-2004, 10:32 PM

what ever happened to having teams of allstars...

id never heard of most of the people on the team.

bachviet · 08-28-2004, 11:30 PM

We got the bronze.

Hopefully USA basketball would pick a better team with shooters for Peking 2008 so we could reclaim the gold medals.

Merlin · 08-29-2004, 06:07 AM

Hopefully the better shooters will accept the honor next time. Rememer this team was "good" considering who passed on playing.

08-27-2004, 12:45 PM	#1
cheapie Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: raising my pimp hand strong Posts: 13,038	USA Basketball: Argentina ends U.S.' chances at gold with ease Losers ATHENS, Greece -- -- For the first time since NBA players began playing in the Olympics in 1992, the U.S. men's basketball team will not come home with the gold. Argentina outshot, outhustled and outclassed the Americans in the semifinals on Friday, rolling to a convincing 89-81 victory in Athens. The U.S. will have to settle playing for bronze, and will face the loser of the Italy-Lithuania game. The U.S. had all kinds of trouble containing Argentina sharpshooter Manu Ginobili, who scored a team-high 29 points. With deadly accuracy from beyond the 3-point arc, Argentina never trailed in the second half, leading by as many as 16 points. The closest the Americans would get was six points. Tim Duncan, perhaps the U.S.' best player in the tournament, fouled out with five minutes remaining, ending the Americans' chances at gold. Prior to Athens, the U.S. was 109-2 in Olympic competition. The loss to Argentina was the Americans' third loss in Greece in only seven games. __________________ 70% of the world is covered by water. The rest is covered by Bob Sanders

08-27-2004, 02:44 PM	#3
Jihforce Vice Admiral Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 4,352	Ginobili light then up for 29 pts. I noticed something from the box scores. Going 32 for 77 ain't going to win you squat when your opponent is shooting 32 for 59. __________________ Auto Leasing Info @ RIDEwithG.com \| My Food & Travel Blog

08-27-2004, 02:44 PM	#4
DarkFury Secretary of the Navy Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Chillin' N Da 'Hood Posts: 34,997	Oh well... Th-th-th-th-th That's all Folks.... __________________ DarkFury's Pimptopia - Don't Hate the Playa, Hate the Game! Home of the Original OG Pimp (accept NO imitations)

08-27-2004, 02:57 PM	#5
verve247 Commander Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: San Francisco Posts: 1,486	This should be in the suckage forum. __________________ Vegetarian - Old indian word meaning poor hunter.

08-28-2004, 11:30 PM	#11
bachviet What's Da Pho*? Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SoCal (714) Posts: 13,296	We got the bronze. Hopefully USA basketball would pick a better team with shooters for Peking 2008 so we could reclaim the gold medals. __________________ Dell Dimension 9200 \| Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4GHz) \| 4x1GB DDR2 \| 256MB nVidia GeForce 8800GT Dell Studio 17 \| Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHz) \| 2x2GB DDR3 1066MHz \| 1GHz ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 Intel P4-C 3.0GHz \| ECS 865PE-A \| 3x512MB PC3200 \| 128MB PNY GeForce 6600GT

08-27-2004, 01:50 PM	#2
gear02 Admiral Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 7,223	I'm surprised, but not shocked or stunned. I knew this was coming, even though I hoped they would play through it. Compared to the crappy world championship team we had, this team was a hard working team. They just didn't have the skillset necessary to compete AS A TEAM in the international world of basketball. I hope this serves as a wake up call to the STUPID people who picked this team to begin with. They needed big men and shooters, and instead they got tons of small forwards who try to cut through to the net, which doesn't work in international basketball. I think people will also blame those who didn't bother to show up. Yeah, they should get part of the blame, but when it was clear that a "dream team" could not be formed (KG, Shaq, Kobe, Kidd, etc.), those in power should have decided to form a TEAM based on requirements, not on pure talent alone.

08-27-2004, 03:29 PM	#7
ialsohaveadream Fleet Admiral Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: FL Posts: 8,077	Now they get to play Lithuania for the bronze. They might not even medal at all.

08-28-2004, 01:17 AM	#9
kei2 Rear Admiral Lower Half Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 2,102	I hope they don't get the bronze. They need a real kick in the pants so whoever is picking these teams gets it through their thick skulls that it's a bad idea to pick one like this. They have point guards that play like shooting guards, shooting guards and small forwards that can't shoot, and no good big men besides TD. And, as many have pointed out before me, they can't play team ball. This is pathetic. Might as well have sent the And1 team. Still no medal, but it'd be a lot more entertaining.

08-28-2004, 10:32 PM	#10
xsiled2 Vice Admiral Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: bye Posts: 4,090	what ever happened to having teams of allstars... id never heard of most of the people on the team.

08-29-2004, 06:07 AM	#12
Merlin Admiral Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Square On My Arse Posts: 7,410	Hopefully the better shooters will accept the honor next time. Rememer this team was "good" considering who passed on playing. __________________

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