The USA Dream Team were given a scare again in the 2nd quarter by the 'best team in Europe' Spain; but ultimately came back to life to secure a decisive victory in the Olympic men's basketball quarter-final. After seeing Spain win the World Championships a couple of years back; I had been waiting for this match-up with USA for years to come; and finally it happened.
Ultimately though; this Spain team is not the same as the one that won a few years back; and while Ricky Rubio is still at the top of his game; some of their players such as Hernangomez; Rudy Fernandez & the Gasol brothers seem to have lost a tad or two.
The key turning point of the game was Spain missing a few easy lay-ups at the start of the third quarter that seemed to bring a seismic shift to the game. Suddenly the Americans were motivated and Spain sluggish. The US team brought about better ball movement and intensity in defence; and led by Kevin Durant, who hit a few excellent long shots; they started to gain a stranglehold on the game.
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