(Tokyo Olympics) U.S. men’s basketball team knocks out Spain’s biggest dark horse and advances to semi-finals
China News Service, Tokyo, August 3 (Reporter Wang Zumin) The quarter-finals of the Tokyo Olympic men’s basketball match kicked off on the 3rd. In a peak match between the Olympic champion and the World Cup champion, the American team has achieved three consecutive Olympic championships. First, the Spanish team, the new champion of the 2019 World Cup, was eliminated by 95:81 and advanced to the semi-finals.
In another quarter-final battle, the Slovenia team, which participated in the Olympic Games for the first time, defeated the German team 94:70 and advanced to the semi-finals with four consecutive victories, becoming the biggest dark horse in the Olympic basketball court.
New rules were adopted for the men’s basketball competition of the current Olympic Games, and a new lottery was drawn after the group stage to determine the quarterfinals. The U.S. team, which qualified as second in the group, met the Spanish team in the first knockout match. This peak match between the Olympic and World Cup champions became the most interesting event in the quarter-finals.
In this campaign, the Spanish team and the U.S. team each played a good half-court. After the Spanish team led the first quarter with 21:19, the second quarter led to double digits. The American team just woke up like a dream and launched a counterattack. At the end of the first half, the score was tied at 43:43.
In the second half, the US team, which had completed the “warm-up”, fully grasped the rhythm on the field. After leading the third quarter with a 69:63 lead, it finally secured the final victory with 95:81.
The Spanish “prodigy” Rubio is still brave and scored a game-high 38 points; the Gasol brothers, who were once brilliant, are quite old, and neither of them earns any points. Durant scored a team-high 29 points.
In the other quarter-finals, the Slovenia team led by NBA superstar Doncic easily defeated the German team 94:70 to advance to the semifinals. Doncic contributed 20 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists with comprehensive data.
The Slovenia team reached the semi-finals for the first time participating in the Olympics, becoming the biggest dark horse in the basketball court of this Olympics. In the group stage, Slovenia defeated the world champion Spain, ranking first in the group with three consecutive victories.
Slovenia has risen to the first place (fourth in the U.S. team) among the top 8 men’s basketball teams recently announced by the FIBA, making it the biggest favorite to win the Olympics this year.
The other two quarter-finals will be played between Australia-Argentina and France-Italy. (Finish)
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