Team USA captured the Gold: Video

After years of embarrasment, Team US is back on top of Basketball world after defeating Spain for the battle for Gold 118-107. We have to give credit to the Spanish team who gave US a good fight, down by only 4 in the last 3 minutes of the game until team US made it a 7 point lead 111-104 with less than 2 minutes left.

Dwyane Wade led the team with 27 points while Kobe Bryant contributed 20 points.

The 3 year preparation had paid off for the Americans. “Much respect to Spain, but the U.S. is back on top again,” LeBron James said at a press conference attended by the entire team.

Rudy Fernandez scored 22 points and Pau Gasol had 21 for the Spanish, the reigning world champions who were hoping to win their first Olympic gold.

USA dethroned Argentina

Team USA dethroned 2004 Gold Medalist Argentina with a 101-81 victory. But the 2004 Gold medalist will not quit without giving the USA Redeem Team a good fight.

Argentinian Star and flag-carrier Manu Ginobili got injured early in the 1st quarter that doomed the team's hope of upsetting the US team. But Argentina staved off courtesy of Houston Rockets backup center Luis Scola who tallied with 28 points. Argentina was able to cut a 21 point lead to a single digit in the 2nd half but Team USA was just too much for them.

Carmelo Anthony topped the US with 21 points and LeBron James followed with 15 points, 13 in the decisive 2nd half run.

“It’s a great feeling right now,”. “I’m going to try to sleep the rest of these couple of hours that we have and get ready for that game on Sunday. I can’t wait.” Anthony said.

Team USA will face Spain for the Gold on Sunday after the Spain defeated Lithuania 91-85. Team USA routed Spain in preliminaries with a 37 point victory. But the team can't be over confident on Sunday. This will be their first major title if they win since they captured the Gold in Sydney Olympics 2000.

USA routs Australia, advances to Semis

"Nothing is more motivating than a Bronze" that were the captions published in one of the newspapers in China featuring LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Team USA are now assured to get get in the medal tally as they rout the Aussies 116-85.

Who can beat team US in this tourney? who wins by an average close to 30 points per game and on this game they proved they are unstoppable.

The game was close on the first half, the lead of the Americans were only 12 after half time. But Kobe Bryant put on an NBA MVP performance on the 2nd half bursting with 9 quick points in the first 3 minutes of the 2nd half, team USA continued the hot pursuit with a 14-0 run that ballooned the lead to 69-43.

Bryant finished with a tournament high 25 points on 10-16 shooting. LeBron James contributed 16 points. Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut get into early foul trouble that kept him on the bench and got only 4 points for Australia.

Team USA will wait for the winner between Argentina and Greece for the semifinals on friday.

USA hammered the Germans: Video

USA completed a sweep in the preliminaries with a 106-57 pounding of the Germans, sending the German team out of the Olympic race. Only the top 4 of each bracket will proceed on the next round.

This game is actually a no-bearing game for the US but showed relentless defense and fluid offense. The 39-point margin is their biggest win in this tourney so far.

Dwight Howard led the US team with 22 points and 10 rebounds while the German was powered by Dirk Nowitzki with 14 points.

USA quarterfinal game will be against Australia this Wednesday. Australia gave them a tough fight during the preliminaries with an 87-76 win.

For the video coverage of USA vs Germany , all you have to do is play the Media Player.

USA drubbed Spain 119 - 82: Game Video

Team USA easily disposed Spain via 119-82 victory. They are now assured of the 1st spot on Bracket B and their next game against the Germans will turn out to be a no bearing game because of superior quotient.

8 players scored in double figures for team USA. The balanced attack was led by LeBron James with 18 points. Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade followed with 16 points apiece.

Felipe Reyes led Spain with 19 points and LA Lakers Star Pau Gasol with 13. Spain was forced to a game high 28 turnovers and although they dominated the board and shot a good field goal percentage, it didn't matter as the Americans capitalized on every turnover that they made.

Team USA massacred Greece & Angola: Videos

Team USA showed the whole world that they are still the favorites to win the Gold medal in Beijing Olympics Men's Basketball.

Team USA easily dismantled African Champion Angola 97-76. The score looks close (yeah 21 point lead is close for USA) but team USA actually led by 30 and got a bit sloppy in the last quarter when the outcome has already been decided at the start of the 2nd half.

Dwyane Wade topped the team with 19 points.

Meanwhile, Team USA avenged their previous defeat against Greece with a convincing 92-69 victory. It was a balanced attacked by the Americans led by Kobe Bryant and Chris Bosh with 18 points apiece. The game was close until the 2nd quarter when team USA outscored the Greeks 32-15, team Greece never recovered after that blowout period.

Team USA will prepare their next encounter against the 2006 World Champions Spain. Both teams have 3-0 record. The winner will be the top seed of their division.

The game videos against Team Greece and Angola are available here but on a limited bandwidth only due to high volume of viewers. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Team USA vs. China - Full Video

It was a close game in the first half. But Team USA pulled away on the 2nd half en route to a 101-70 victory.

This was the biggest basketball game in China’s history and perhaps the most-watched basketball game ever—and the U.S. wanted to turn in a performance to match the moment as it took its first step toward Olympic hoops redemption.

If you want to see the full video, then you can just view it here through Media Player.

Note: Limited bandwidth only due to high volume of viewers.

Olympic 1st Game: Team USA vs. China

In one heartpounding minute in the first half, LeBron James dunked off a nifty underhanded feed from Dwyane Wade. Then Kobe Bryant flew in and jammed. Then it was Chris Bosh’s turn to rattle the rim.

As the backboard swayed, some might have recalled the fabled Dream Team. The final score — U.S. 101, China 70—might also draw comparisons.

Who’s worried about the 7-for-29 shooting from beyond the arc? Just toss it up and throw it down.

This was the biggest basketball game in China’s history and perhaps the most-watched basketball game ever—and the U.S. wanted to turn in a performance to match the moment as it took its first step toward Olympic hoops redemption.

“I’ve never felt an environment quite like this,” said Bryant, a veteran of five NBA Finals. “I’ve played in many big games, but the energy tonight was different.

“I think they knew that history was being made tonight,” Bryant said. “Obviously, it was a proud moment for their country as it is for ours. You could feel the electricity.”

Two nights after China put on a spectacular opening ceremony, it shared the spotlight with the nation that invented basketball.

The sparkling Wukesong Indoor Stadium began to buzz an hour before tipoff. But it didn’t feel like much of a homecourt for the Chinese. Team USA took the floor to a roar that was every bit as loud as the cheer when China came out of the dressing room. Bryant got as much applause as Chinese icon Yao Ming during pregame introductions.

“The excitement of it, the anxiousness of it, the anticipation was just crazy,” said Dwyane Wade, who led the U.S. with 19 points off the bench. “I’m kind of glad it’s out of the way now. This game was just over the top.”

With President Bush and his father watching alongside Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi, this was as much a spectacle as a basketball game. The president visited with the U.S. players in the locker room before the game.

“He basically came up to us and said, ‘I’m here to support you, our country supports you, and so go out there and kick some butt,’ ” Bryant said.

The U.S. did that eventually. But for one half the game met, and perhaps even exceeded, the expectations of the hosts.

“Many things we learned from those guys,” China coach Jonas Kazlauskas said. “So I think that it will be good for us.”

The Americans may be treated like rock stars here, but they suffered from a bit of stage fright early on. The U.S. turned the ball over on its first possession, and the Chinese grabbed a quick 3-0 lead on a 3-pointer by Yao from the top of the key.

“He scripted it perfect,” Wade said. “You just had to smile because you couldn’t write it any better.”

In the past, the Chinese might have been tempted to call timeout and take a picture of the scoreboard. But China has improved under Kazlauskas.

After the U.S. forged a 28-21 lead early in the second quarter, China tied it at 29-29 on a 3-pointer by Sun Yue with six minutes to play in the first half.

That’s when Team USA began to flex its superiority. The Americans responded with a 16-3 run capped by a trio of thundering dunks—by James, Bryant and Bosh — on its way to a 49-37 halftime lead.

The Americans struggled with their long-range shooting, an ominous sign for a team that has been dogged by shooting woes in past international tournaments. The U.S. went 1-for-12 from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Chinese, by contrast, hit eight of their first 12 shots from beyond the arc. But when their 3-pointers stopped falling, the Chinese had no answer for the U.S.’ defensive pressure, not to mention its superior depth.

China has more than a billion people, but there’s not an elite point guard among them. If they ever find one, the Chinese might begin to close the oceanic gap between them and the Americans.

The U.S. had beaten China in each of their first nine meetings by a combined 363 points. In their last meeting, the Americans blasted China 121-90 in the world championships two years ago in Sapporo, Japan, harrying the Chinese into 25 turnovers.

Although the U.S. won this game by 31 points, the Chinese hoped to send a message. They’re relative newcomers on the international hoops stage, but they aren’t going away.

Yao, who led China with 13 points, seemed to make that point as he came off for the last time with 4:43 to play and China trailing 87-54.

Yao raised his right fist to the crowd, sparking a long, loud ovation.

China had lost. But basketball won.

Pre-Olympics: Team USA vs Australia

Led by a balanced offensive effort that saw Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) pump in 22 points and three other U.S. team members score in double digits, the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team (5-0) fought off a determined Australian squad 87-76 Tuesday night in Shanghai in the team’s final warm-up game before opening Olympic play Aug. 10 in Beijing against host China.

Also aiding the USA cause were LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), 16 points; Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), 13 points; Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) recorded a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds; Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors) added nine points and Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) scored eight.
“Well Australia played us very well. We were not shooting well and their defense took away a lot of driving areas. They got really hot (shooting) in the second half to put a lot of game pressure on our guys and I thought our guys handled it well on a night where from the free throw line or from the 3-point things were not easy for us,” said USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“We’re still in the process of getting prepared (for the Olympics. We’ve played four games in six days and we gave them off yesterday just because were trying to pace ourselves. Probably that lack of practice had a little bit of an impact on our performance. I didn’t think we were as sharp as we have been and the three days that we can have practice in Beijing have to be three good practice days in order to get us going. We’ve been playing outstanding basketball and tonight I didn’t think we played very well, or not up to what we can play.”

The USA found itself in a 17-13 hole with 2:53 to play in the opening stanza, but after tightening things up, the red, white and blue closed the quarter with a 9-2 run to secure a 22-19 lead after one period of play.

The USA lead was back to a single point, 26-25, following a drive and hoop from Australia’s Brad Newley, however James took over and broke the game open scoring eight points in a 12-0 run that ballooned the American's lead to 38-25.

At halftime, the U.S. had its biggest lead of the first half 44-29. The U.S. defense again led the way limiting the Aussies to 4-of-14 shooting in the second quarter while pressuring them to cough up the ball eight times.

Australia open the third quarter on fire and behind three 3-pointers, two coming from David Barlow, outscored the U.S. 13-2 to close the gap to 46-42 with 6:52 remaining in the third.

Anthony nailed a jumper that launched the U.S. on a mini 7-2 offensive run that cushioned the USA lead to 53-44 and at the end of the third, the lead stood at 10, 65-55.

The USA advantage in the fourth quarter ranged between seven points (71-64 at 5:24) and 16 points (84-68 at 1:56), and the score ended 87-76, but only after Australia managed to outscore the U.S. 8-3 over the final 1:50.

“Australia played well, our defense wasn't crisp early on. They knocked down their shots and really made us work for the game. It was actually a good game for us, and we knew from the jump that they’d come out really physical. You can make whatever you want from it, we’re still growing, we’ll get better as each game goes on,” said the game’s high scorer Wade.

The USA shot a respectable 50.8 percent from the floor for the night, but managed a frigid 3-of-18 from 3-point and further hindered its cause shooting just 20-for-33 from the foul line.

Five Aussies scored in double digits, led by 13 points from Chris Anstey and Saint Mary’s University guard Patrick Mills. Barlow finished with 12, while CJ Bruton and Newley each tossed in 11 points.

In its five exhibition game, the U.S. averaged 106.0 ppg. and owned a 31.0 margin of victory. The U.S. shot 61.6 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from 3-point and 70.0 percent from the foul line, while limiting its opponents to 41.2 percent shooting overall, 37.0 percent from 3-point.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men’s basketball preliminary round play of takes place Aug. 10-18. The U.S. opens preliminary play Aug. 10 against host China at 10:15 p.m. (all times listed are Beijing local times which is 12 hours ahead of EDT); then play Africa zone champion Angola on Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m.; on Aug. 14 at 8:00 p.m. the USA will face 2006 World Championship runner-up Greece at 8:00 p.m.; 2006 FIBA World Champion Spain on Aug. 16 at 10:15 p.m.; and the USA will close out preliminary play Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The men’s Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22and the Olympic men’s gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.

Pre-Olympics: Team USA vs Russia

After being led to victories in its first three games by a high octane offense that averaged 118 points a game, the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team (4-0) turned to good old hard-nosed defense to propel it to a 89-68 victory over Russia Sunday afternoon in Shanghai, China, and in front of a sold-out Qizhong Forest Arena crowd of 14,523. The win improved the USA’s pre-Olympic record to 4-0 overall, and 3-0 in the USA Basketball International Challenge.

Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) led the American offensive effort with a game high 19 points, while Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, and Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) recorded 16 points.

“This was a really good for us because Russia put the ball in the hands of their two best players (J.R.) Holden and (Andrey) Kirilenko and when they do that they’re a really good team and a tough team to defend. I thought our defense was excellent and on offense we seemed a little bit out of synch. What I’m really pleased with is it didn’t come easy offensively for us and it never had a negative impact on our defense and tome that’s a really big thing,” said USA mentor Mike Krzyzewski.

The USA Basketball International Challenge concludes on Aug. 5 (8 p.m. local time) against 2007 Oceania champion Australia at the Qizhong Arena in Shanghai.

“They’re a physical team, they’re a big team, they did a good job on the offensive boards which kept us out of the open court for a little bit. But in the second half I thought we did a much better job being the initiators and playing with a bit more energy, whether we scored the ball or whether we got a defensive rebound, we played with more energy and pushed the ball up the floor,” said Bryant.

The U.S. scored the game’s first five points and never trailed in Sunday’s game, although Russia did fight back to share the lead at 9-9 with 4:51 left in the first quarter.

But Wade helped launch an 8-1 run with a 3-pointer as the Americans cushioned their lead to 17-10. Leading
22-16 with 1:16 remaining in the opening period, the USA posted a 7-1 run that was capped by a Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) 3-pointer with :04 left that pushed the USA ahead 29-17.

The second period remained a physical battle and try as they might, Russia could not get the U.S. lead below eight. Getting five points from Wade, the USA posted a 7-3 run over the quarter’s final 3:15 and at halftime the U.S. had upped its advantage to 46-31.

With the USA leading 50-33 and 8:19 to play in the third quarter, Bryant, who was selected the Player of the Game by a media panel, scored the USA’s next 11 points on an assortment of dazzling moves, but still, with 3:34 left in the third, the USA lead stood at only 12, 61-49.

Russia cut the U.S. advantage to 10, 61-51, after a J.R. Holden hoop, but the red, white and blue finished out the quarter with a 10-0 run as Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks) drilled a pair of 3-pointers and Wade added a pair of baskets to leave the USA in charge 71-51 heading into the final 10 minutes.

“They had some gaps there and I just took advantage of them. The ball found me and I was able to make them pay,” said Bryant of his 11 straight points. “In that kind of situation where the game is kind of see-sawing back and forth, we have so many weapons – it could be LeBron, it could be D-Wade, one of us is going to kick into high gear.”

LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) was the fourth USAplayer to score in dsouble-figures after finishing with 10 points and six rebounds. Williams credited with nine assists to go with his five points, three rebounds and two steals.

The USA, which entered the game shooting a sizzling 66.2 percent from the field overall and 45.9 percent from 3-point, shot 57.1 percent from the floor versus Russia, and was a hot 53.8 percent (7-13 3pt FGs) from 3-point. Meanwhile, the USA defense forced Russia into 17 turnovers, and limited the defending European zone champ to 39.7 percent shooting from the field, including just 4-of-17 from 3-point.

“You’ve got to learn guys tendencies and get used to guys, but it’s pretty easy with this group because they all know how to play the game, they all know how to move without the ball, and so it’s pretty easy to find someone out there,” admitted Williams who leads the team in assists after four games averaging 6.25 assists a game.

“Tonight I thought Chris Bosh played a great game. Chris’ defense away from the basket is outstanding. I think it’s been one of our strong points,” stated Krzyzewski. “When I look at Chris’ performance a lot of it isn’t going to show up in the stats except the fact that they got 68 points and Chris Bosh had a lot to do with that. As a coach you can’t just judge this (the box score) you’ve got to judge what you see and what’s happening out on the court.”

“We have so many talented offensive guys I’m really not worried about offense, I feel I can help this team on defense being active, getting my hands on some deflections, rebounding the basketball and running the floor,” said Bosh . “Defense is very important to this team because we’re not going to shoot the ball well every day and we can’t let our offense dictate how the game is going to go, we have to let our defense dictate that.”

Russia was paced by Utah Jazz standout Andrei Kirilenko's 18 points, while American J.R. Holden, who played at Bucknell University, added 17 points.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men’s basketball preliminary round play of takes place Aug. 10-18. The U.S. opens preliminary play Aug. 10 against host China at 10:15 p.m. (all times listed are Beijing local times which is 12 hours ahead of EDT); then play Africa zone champion Angola on Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m.; on Aug. 14 at 8:00 p.m. the USA will face 2006 World Championship runner-up Greece at 8:00 p.m.; 2006 FIBA World Champion Spain on Aug. 16 at 10:15 p.m.; and the USA will close out preliminary play Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The men’s Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22and the Olympic men’s gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.

Serving as 2008 USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team assistant coaches are Syracuse University and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head mentor Mike D’Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.

Pre-Olympics: Team USA vs Lithuania

For all the doubters, Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) showed he is back in full all-star form after tallying a game best 19 points, while U.S. center Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) added 17 points and the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team (3-0) stormed to a convincing start-to-finish 120-84 victory over Lithuania (0-1) Friday night in Macao, China. It was the third straight win for the USA Team, and the second in as many nights of action in the USA Basketball International Challenge.

"I’m healthy again, as healthy as I’ve been in two years and I’m excited not only about this opportunity, but I’m excited about the rest of my career because now I know what it takes and the weight room has become my best friend. Hard work has got me here,” said Wade, who made 7-of-9 shots and added four assists and three rebounds.

The Americans set the tone on this one right from the opening tip that led to a LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) dunk.

With the game just 2:37 old, the U.S. had opened up a 10 point lead, 12-2, and the USA lead never fell below double digits in the first half and was only reduced to nine on one occasion in the third quarter.

“We made it a priority early to get Dwight (Howard) involved and he did a great job of dominating inside, not just with his offense but defensively too,” said USA mentor Mike Krzyzewski. “I thought our defense set the tone for the game and Dwight’s defense anchoring our defense was key.”

Howard scored six of the USA’s first eight points and with 7:23 left in the opening stanza the U.S. had sprinted to a 12-2 lead.

The USA advantage quickly reached 20 after Howard made one of two free throws to push the score to 25-5 with 3:06 left in the quarter, and after one period the Americans were up handedly, 31-15.

Lithuania refused to fold and twice managed to cut the deficit to 13 points, but each time it did, the USA answered in spectacular fashion and at the intermission the U.S. owned a 17 point lead, 56-39.

Lithuania finally found the range on its 3-point shooting and after draining its first four 3-balls of the third quarter, the USA’s advantage had been cut to nine, 61-52.

Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) answered at the other end with a traditional three point play to end the third quarter rally and push the U.S. lead back into double-digits, 64-52.

Turning back to its defense, the Americans sealed the game with a 16-3 offensive run during which Anthony poured in six points and had highlight passes to two teammates for crowd pleasing dunks.

Playing in front of another CotaiArena sellout crowd of 11,885, of the USA’s 48 made baskets, 34 were assisted on. The U.S., which outscored Lithuania in fast break points 29-3, forced Lithuania into 23 turnovers.

The USA scoring was also aided by Michael Redd’s (Milwaukee Bucks) 16 points that came off 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point, James finished with 15 points, Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) tossed in 13 points and Anthony finished with 11 points. Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) accounted for seven assists each.

Lithuania was paced by Roimantas Kaukenas’ 17 points.

“I think we played really well tonight because we had so much respect for Lithuania, who I think can be a medal round winner,” said USA mentor Mike Krzuzewski.

The USA Basketball International Challenge now moves to Shanghai and the Americans will conclude the USA Basketball International Challenge with tests versus 2007 EuroBasket champion Russia on Aug. 3 (3 p.m. Shanghai local time) and 2007 Oceania champion Australia on Aug. 5 (8 p.m. Shanghai local time). Both games will be held at the Qizhong Arena in Shanghai.

Preliminary round play of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games takes place Aug. 10-18. The U.S. opens preliminary play Aug. 10 against host China at 10:15 p.m. (all times listed are Beijing local times which is 12 hours ahead of EDT); then play Africa zone champion Angola on Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m.; on Aug. 14 at 8:00 p.m. the USA will face 2006 World Championship runner-up Greece at 8:00 p.m.; 2006 FIBA World Champion Spain on Aug. 16 at 10:15 p.m.; and the USA will close out preliminary play Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The men’s Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22and the Olympic men’s gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.

Serving as 2008 USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team assistant coaches are Syracuse University and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head mentor Mike D’Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.