par Chris Wassel
in
New
Jul 27, 2021 19:53 PDT
The men’s 3 × 3 basketball semifinals begin at 4:30 a.m. ET with Serbia facing Russia. At 5:40 am ET, Latvia faces Belgium. These winners will advance to the final later Wednesday morning around 9:25 a.m. ET. The bronze medal game will begin around 8:15 a.m. ET.
As for the women, their semi-finals are at 4 a.m. and 5:10 a.m. ET, respectively, with France taking on Team USA and China against Russia. The winning teams meet at approximately 8:55 a.m. ET, with the bronze medal contest scheduled to begin around 7:45 a.m. ET.
The Serbs make a favorable match against Russia (ROC). Russia bounced back in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands to win 21-19. The Dutch expected to be the biggest challenge for Serbia, but Russia pulled off the surprise. They held off against the Dutch after the Netherlands nearly erased a six-point deficit.
Russia was strangled in the preliminaries by Serbia 21-10, as the Serbs were too powerful inside for the Russians to contain them. When the ROC collapsed, Serbia often made them pay from the perimeter. They were just too fast. It could very well happen in the semi-finals and probably will be.
The other clash features Latvia against Belgium. All Wednesday morning games will be broadcast on USA Network. Latvia is slightly favored over Belgium. Latvians beat Japan in the quarter-finals. It’s a tournament where Latvia has played better over time. Their chemistry from top to bottom is a bit better than that of Belgium.
It’s a game that can go either way, but Belgium might be a little rusty because they got a pass. The Latvians should be able to take advantage of this, hit a few more peripheral shots and outlast Belgium to advance.
The Serbia team are a formidable opponent and beat all three opponents in the semi-finals in the round robin tournament. They almost sweated against Russia in the first meeting and took a six-point victory over Latvia earlier in the tournament. There is little reason to believe that much will change.
Some would say it’s almost unfair, but this team appears to be on cruise control to win the gold medal.
Dusan Bulut is arguably the best 3 × 3 player in the world. The standings may say otherwise, but in this tournament Bulut with Aleksander Ratkov and the shot blocker at Vasic. When you add Dejan Mastorovic to the mix, the Serbs are a machine. Latvia have Nauris Miezis (the highest ranked player in the world) but Serbia are undefeated and playing best at the moment.
What Team USA has done in this tournament has been impressive. They lost to Japan in the last group game, but by then they got a pass and survived that game. France beat Japan 16-14 in a hotly contested affair.
In the first meeting, the United States had too much speed and defense for France, limiting them to just 10 points in an easy 17-10 victory. Stefanie Dolson and Jackie Young were formidable in the first meeting, slowing down the French attack late in the game. It was 9-8 at one point and then the defense took over.
WNBA players Stefanie Dolson, Katie Lou Samuelson, Allisha Gray and Kelsey Plum teach you everything you need to know about Olympic 3 × 3 basketball. #Olympic Games pic.twitter.com/H9xjxobCzL
If that’s not enough, Kelsey Plum can shoot from anywhere and Allisha Gray is able to cut inside and out. That’s part of what makes Team USA so hard to contain. The Americans should once again be able to face France in the semi-finals.
There is not as much value for Team USA but the feeling is that Russia does not have quite the domestic penetration that Team USA has. China, however, does. It was the Chinese who gave Americans their toughest test. Expect this again if China manages to bypass Russia.
Our pick is the WNBA-led women of Team USA in a close game for the gold medal.
A veteran journalist for over two decades, Chris has taught the gamut of fantasy hockey sports online, from injuries to news to leads and more. He has bet on several sports and writes sports betting articles on the NBA, MLB, NCAA football, NFL and NHL for USA Today.
A veteran journalist for over two decades, Chris has taught the gamut of fantasy hockey sports online, from injuries to news to leads and more. He has bet on several sports and writes sports betting articles on the NBA, MLB, NCAA football, NFL and NHL for USA Today.
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