Men's Basketball Day 7 Review: United States, Spain go all the way

  2008-08-23 02:37:03 GMT    2008-08-23 10:37:03 (Beijing Time)    BOCOG

  (BEIJING, August 22) -- The Men's Basketball semifinals ended on Friday, August 22, with Spain and the United States set for a group B rematch in the final.

  Spain got 15 points on free throws in the last quarter for a 91-86 triumph over Lithuania. Spain went inside on most of its opportunities, scoring 42 points in the paint. Pau Gasol's game-high 19 points and an 11-point, seven-rebound performance by Carlos Jimenez were prominent in the win.

  Spain's clinical finishing in the paint led to Lithuania's top forwards to get in foul trouble early on, a telling factor that came back to hurt Lithuania when Marijonas Petravicius, Ksistof Lavrinovic and Ramunas Siskauskas all fouled out of the game in the last quarter.

  Simas Jasaitis had 11 points off the bench in the first half, and he and inspirational guard Sarunas Jasikevicius both added 19 points for the losers, while forward Linas Kleiza, who came into the game averaging a team-high 14 points per game, was held off the scoresheet. He was ejected with 4:33 remaining in the game after picking up a second unsportsmanlike foul.

  "We were near the victory, but we had problems under the basket and problems with fouls. Spain made 35 points just off free throws," said Lithuania coach Ramunas Butautas after the game.

  This is Lithuania's fourth consecutive Olympic semifinal loss.

  Carmelo Anthony's team-high 21 points headlined the United States effort, as the "Redeem Team" exacted some measure of revenge on the team that had relegated it to the bronze medal game in the semifinals four years ago in Athens.

  With versatile forward Andres Nocioni already hampered by tendonitis, Argentina's slim chance of victory further evaporated late in the first quarter when star guard Manu Ginobili aggravated an ankle injury that he had carried into the Olympic campaign. The leading scorer in the tournament hobbled off the court, and later into the locker room, and took no further part in the game.

  The United States quickly seized the initiative, expanding an eight-point lead to 19 as the game headed into the second period.

  The defending Olympic champions managed to trim the deficit back to nine at the main break, but that would be as close as they would get, with the margin soon getting back out to double figures and staying there for the remainder of the match.

  "We gave away the first quarter and we paid a very expensive price for that," said Argentina's forward Carlos Delfino. "After that it was an uphill battle, especially after Ginobili's injury. We didn't do what we planned and you cannot afford that against a team like the United States."