U.S. men race past Greece in basketball
BEIJING • In the first few minutes of the United States-Greece men’s basketball game, a group of animated, hopeful Greeks sitting a few rows off the court made a lot of noise.
They waved their flag. They sang. They were having a grand time.But their joy didn’t last long. The United States crushed Greece 92-69 in an Olympic qualifying game. The victory helped avenge a loss to Greece in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championships.
By the end of the first half, the group of once-happy Greeks looked thoroughly depressed. They slumped in their seats. They were stunned and silent.
Led by Kobe Bryant and Chris Bosh, the Americans played with great energy and focus. That’s easy to explain. Players wanted to shake memories of their 2006 loss to Greece.
“They had big motivation,” said Greece’s Nikolaos Zisis. “They lost to a small country.”
Bosh agreed with Zisis’ analysis. Bosh, a center, was a member of the 2006 team that lost to Greece, 101-95.
“We wanted to kind of redeem ourselves,” Bosh said. “This was like a payback game for us.”To stop the Americans, an opponent must to slow down the game and force the U.S. to play half-court basketball. The Greeks failed in this quest.
The United States pressured Greek ball handlers, forced turnovers and quickly turned the game into a romp. Bryant and Dwyane Wade and LeBron James kept dunking and soon the Greeks were far, far behind.
James said it’s impossible for a team to prepare for the Americans’ collection of basketball sprinters.
“You can’t go over how fast we are until you’re out there on the court with us,” James said.
Thursday’s victory serves as a tune-up for Saturday’s clash with Spain, which won the 2006 world championship. The Spanish are led by Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol and have their own revenge in mind.
The U.S. eliminated the Spanish from Olympic competition in 2004.-Contact the writer: Columnist David Ramsey can be reached at 476-4985 or david.ramsey@gazettedev.gazette.com. Check out David’s blog at http://daveramseysez.freedomblogging.com
Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette