Beijing Olympic Basketball Tournament for Men

BEIING (Olympics) - The United States sent their best to the Beijing Games and it’s a good thing they did because the Americans needed every weapon in their arsenal to beat Spain in the gold medal game at the Olympics. After steamrolling the competition and charging into the final as huge favourites, Team USA had to put on an incredible shooting performance to win 118-107.

BEIJING (Olympics) – Manu Ginobili laced up his high-tops and tried to play for Argentina on Sunday in the bronze medal game against Lithuania but felt too much pain in his ankle and had to watch from the bench. Ginobili suffered a recurrence of the ankle injury that nearly knocked him out of the Olympics in the first quarter of his team’s ...

BEIJING (Olympics) – Argentina didn’t have injured star Manu Ginobili but Leonardo Gutierrez and Paolo Quinteros filled the void as the South Americans beat Lithuania to capture the Olympic bronze medal on Sunday. With Ginobili looking on from the bench wearing a pair of jeans and an Argentina polo shirt, Gutierrez and Quinteros combined for 15 points in the first half and 22 overall in an 87-75 victory.

BEIJING (Olympics) - Ricky Rubio will become the youngest basketball player to receive a medal at the Olympics on Sunday after Spain's clash with the United States in the title game. The 17-year-old Rubio will overtake Vladimir Tatchenko, who won bronze at the 1976 Olympics as a member of the USSR team. Rubio doesn't turn 18 until October 21. The DKV ...

BEIJING (Olympics) – United States forward LeBron James has called Sunday’s gold medal clash with Spain the most important game of his career. A player many consider to be the best in the world, James reached the 2007 NBA Finals with Cleveland but the Cavaliers lost to San Antonio in four games. Now the 23-year-old superstar is 40 minutes ...

BEIJING (Olympics) – Manu Ginobili will not play in the bronze medal game at the Olympics with Argentina because of the ankle injury that knocked him out of Friday’s 101-81 defeat to the United States. The South American giants will take on Lithuania on Sunday. "Only a miracle would allow me to go on the court,” said Ginobili, ...

BEIJING (Olympics) - The United States beat defending champions Argentina 101-81 on Friday night to earn a ticket to the gold medal game at the Olympics. The Americans, who won the gold medal in 2000 but lost a semi-final to Argentina four years ago before settling for bronze, got a team-high 21 points from Carmelo Anthony. The USA stormed out to a 21-point lead and Argentina then lost superstar guard Manu Ginobili to an ankle injury.

BEIJING (Olympics) – Spain edged Lithuania 91-86 to reach the gold medal game at the Olympics for the first time in 24 years while sending the Baltic giants to their fifth semi-final defeat in a row. Spain, after a gritty performance from the unheralded Felipe Reyes in the third quarter, rode the back of Rudy Fernandez and Pau Gasol in the fourth ...

BEIJING (Olympics) - The No 1 team on FIBA World rankings – USA – will take on the reigning FIBA World Champions – Spain – for the Olympic men’s basketball gold. That was the script laid out after USA steamrollered defending Olympics gold medalists Argentina 101-81 and Spain scraped from the bottom of their reserves to stop ...

BEIJING (Olympics) – In the post-game press conference after the United States’ 116-85 triumph over Australia, Kobe Bryant, the architect of the Boomers’ demise, was asked if he wanted to play Argentina or Greece in the semi-finals. Bryant, fresh off his best performance at the Olympics, stated firmly: “We want to play the best. ...

BEIJING (Olympics) – World champions Spain thrashed Lithuania 91-66 earlier this summer in the build-up to the Beijing Games. Expect Friday’s Olympic semi-final between the sides to be much closer. “This will be the most difficult game for us at the Olympics,” said Lithuania veteran Sarunas Jasikevicius, who made five of six ...

BEIJING (Olympics) – Argentina edged Greece 80-78 to advance to the semi-finals of the Olympics where they will take on gold-medal favourites Team USA. The South Americans, who beat Greece in the quarter-finals four years ago in Athens and then defeated the USA in the last four, had to survive a nervous finish. They led by five after a daring ...

BEIJING (Olympics)  - The United States didn’t hit all of their shots against Australia but they made up for it with plenty of rebounds and eventually pulled clear for 116-85 win to reach the semi-finals of the Olympics. Kobe Bryant had 25 points to lead the USA, who grabbed 57 boards to just 28 for the Boomers. The Americans will now meet ...

BEIJING (Olympics) – Lithuania booked their fifth Olympic semi-final appearance in a row by pulling away from Yao Ming and China for a 94-68 triumph on Wednesday. Sarunas Jasikevius made five of six shots from long range and led all scorers with 23 points as the Lithuanians set up a last-four clash with world champions Spain. China’s giant ...

BEIJING (Olympics) – Pau Gasol and Spain built a big first-half advantage and used that as a platform for a 72-59 victory against Croatia in the first quarter-final of the men’s basketball tournament at the Olympics. Gasol had nine of his game-high 20 points in the first quarter as the world champions opened up a 22-11 lead and the Spanish ...