Aug

22

Gasol And Fernandez Lead Spain To Chance For Gold Beat Lithuania 91-86

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Pau Gasol scored 19 points, and Rudy Fernandez scored 18 more, as the Spanish National team defeated Lithuania in the Beijing Olympics semi-final game 91-86. The victory advance Spain to the Gold Medal round on Sunday as they take on unbeaten Team USA for all the marbles. Lithuania will play Argentina for the Bronze.

This game went back and forth for three quarters before Spain pulled away in the fourth. Spain had a slim 21-19 lead at the end of the first quarter. Lithuania  turned the tables in the second quarter and went into the locker room at the half ahead 42-40. The Lithuanians were still on top at the end of three quarters as they had a 66-62 advantage going into the final period. Fernandez who came out of the game in the third after knocking noggins with Lithuanian player Ksistof Lavrinovic came back into the contest in the fourth quarter, and he and Gasol led the team to the win.

Gasol led the Spanish squad with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, Fernadez scored 18 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal in the win. Felipe Reyes scored 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, Carlos Jiminez scored 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Sarunas Jasikevicius scored 19 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals. Simas Jasaitis came off the bench and scored 19 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, in the loss. Spain will face Team USA for the second time in the Beijing Games, having lost in their previous meeting 119-82.

© Copyright 2008 thesackattack.net


Aug

22

Team USA Heads To Finals Beat Argentina 101-81

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The “Redeem Team” the 2008 Team USA Men’s Basketball squad, is one win away from accomplishing their mission. Not only to win the Gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, but to win back the respect of the rest of the planet. The Americans will take on Spain this Sunday in the Gold Medal game after defeating 2004 Gold Medal winners Argentina Friday 101-81. The victory for the United States also helps take away some of the sting to losing to the Argentinians in the 2002 World Championships, and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Team USA came out of the gate on fire as they grabbed a 30-11 lead at the end of the first period. Argentina not only lost the quarter, but more importantly they lost their leader and best player Manu Ginobili who injured his left ankle again in the first quarter. The injury was so severe that Ginobili never returned, taking Argentina’s best chance of winning with him. However the way that Team USA is playing currently, it would have been a tough task for even the Argentinians at full strength to have won this contest.

Argentina was able to cut their deficit to 49-40 as the game reached the half. Team USA came out of the locker room in the third quarter and dominated once again building their lead back to 78-64 at the end of the period. The squad from South America was not a threat in the final quarter.

Carmelo Anthony led six players in double figures for Team USA, as he scored 21 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block 1 steal, in the semi-finals victory. LeBron James scored 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, Kobe Bryant, who is so popular in China that he could probably be elected Premier ( could you imagine that, Chairman Kobe?) was one of three players with 12 points, he also had 2 rebounds, 2 steals,1 assist. Dwyane Wade came off the bench with 12  points, 1 assist, 1 steal, Chris Paul also came in off the pine and scored 12 points, 3 steals, 3 rebounds, 2  assists. Chris Bosh recorded a double-double, as he scored 11 points, and grabbed 10 boards, 1 block, Dwight Howard just missed a double-double as he scored 10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal.

Argentina was led by Luis Scola who also recorded a double-double, a game high 28 points, 11 boards, 2 blocks, 2 steals, in the loss. Team USA will take on the Spanish National team Sunday for the Gold Medal. The two teams met earlier in the Tournament, as Team USA won convincingly 119-82.

© Copyright 2008 thesackattack.net

Aug

22

Dorell Wright Re-Signs With Miami

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The “Associated Press” reported Thursday that the Miami Heat have reached an agreement with their free agent forward Dorell Wright. Terms of the contract have not been released. Wright showed promise this past season for the Heat before joining most of his teammates on the injured list after hurting his knee. Wright who was a first round pick by the Heat in the 2004 NBA Draft, was having his best season in the Association before shutting it down for the campaign. In 44 games Wright started 34, and averaged 7.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, per contest.

© Copyright 2008 thesackattack.net

Aug

22

Marshall Waived By OKC

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The “Associated Press” reported Thursday that veteran power forward Donyell Marshall has been waived by the “Team Formerly Known As The Seattle SuperSonics.” Marshall came to the team that will be relocated in Oklahoma City in the upcoming season, on February 21, as part of a three team trade with Chicago and Cleveland. Marshall who just completed season number 14 in the Association was a first round pick in the 1994 NBA Draft by Minnesota. He was traded to the Golden State Warriors during his rookie campaign, and stayed with them until the end of the 1999-2000 season. Marshall had stints with Utah, Chicago, and Toronto before signing with a free agent with Cleveland in 2005. Marshall who has averaged 11.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, through his career, was a strong veteran presence in the Cavaliers locker room during his time with the team. With Cleveland recently acquiring some major help in the back court by trading for Mo Williams, Marshall may be someone they have interest in getting some depth upfront.

© Copyright 2008 thesackattack.net