Olympic games, quarterfinals: Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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Argentina became the last team to advance to the Men's basketball tournament semifinals by edging Greece 80-78 in arguably the most intense quarterfinal game at Wukesong Arena in the Chinese capital on Wednesday. Argentina has the chance to defend its Olympic title and faces United States in the semifinals. Both teams faced each other in a similar situation in Athens 2004, when Argentina downed the U.S. 89-81 in the semifinals to advance to the title game. Meanwhile, Greece lost the chance to reach the Olympic semifinals for the first time, registering his third quarterfinal loss in as many appearances since 1996. Former Final Four MVP Manu Ginobili paced the winners with 24 points, including a key basket already in the final minute. Carlos Delfino of BC Khimki had 15 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, Andres Nocioni added 12 while Luis Scola had 11 for Argentina. Antonis Fotsis of Panathinaikos led Greece with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Kostas Tsartsaris of Panathinaikos added 13, Giannis Bouroussis had 12 while his Olympiacos teammates Panos Vasilopoulos got 10. It all came down to the final play, but Vassilis Spanoulis of Panathinaikos missed the potential game-winning shot for Greece at the buzzer.
Tsartsaris got Greece going with a layup and Spanoulis added a driving basket for a 2-4 lead. Argentina ran its offense through Scola in the early going but Tsartsaris kept Greece ahead, 6-8. Greece grabbed 4 offensive rebounds in the opening 3 minutes but Argentina soon adjusted its defense while a wild three-point play by Nocioni gave his team a 8-7 edge. Spanoulis and four-time Euroleague Best Defensive player Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos stepped up for Greece but Ginobili nailed back-to-back triples for a 14-14 tie. A red hot Ginobili sank his third three-pointer but Tsartsaris and Fotsis made Greece regain the lead, 19-23. Delfino beat the buzzer with a running triple to get Argentina within 22-23 after 10 minutes. Greece struggled to score early in the second quarter. Meanwhile, two-time All-Euroleague second team selection Pablo Prigioni of Tau Ceramica and Delfino nailed consecutive jumpers to put Argentina back ahead, 26-25. Fotsis and Spanoulis kept pacing Greece but Nocioni had 5 quick points for a 31-29 Argentinian edge. Greece finally adjusted its defense while Tsartaris scored twice in the paint to get his team back ahead, 31-34. Scola tried to change things with a layup but Giannis Bouroussis of Olympiacos followed a two-handed dunk with free throws. Ginobili and Leo Gutierrez buried consecutive triples to bring Argentina within 39-40 at halftime.
Tsartsaris stayed focused after the break, stopping Scola down low and scoring in the other end. Ginobili shined with a floating layup that Prigioni followed with a fast break basket to provide another lead change, 45-44. Prigioni sank a three-pointer while Fabricio Oberto found his first points for a 50-46 Argentinian lead. Greece improved its offense with former Euroleague MVP Theo Papaloukas on court while his Olympiacos teammate Sofoklis Schortsianitis tied the game with a layup, 50-50. Ginobili and Delfino hit respective triples but Vasilopoulos joined the three-point shootout and added a jumper to fix the score at 56-55 after three quarters. Delfino stayed on fire, as he struck twice from downtown and added a driving layup for a 62-55 Argentinian margin early in the fourth quarter. Fotsis and Nikos Zisis of CSKA rescued Greece with a seven-meter bomb to get their team back in the game, 64-63. Delfino scored again but Fotsis tied the game with a triple, 66-66. Delfino - who else? - answered from downtown and even when Bouroussis answered with an alleyoop layup, he added a fallaway jumper for a 71-68 score. Free throws by Fotsis and Papaloukas got Greece within 73-72 with 3 minutes to go. Ginobili sank another three-pointer but Diamantidis answered from downtown. Ginobili made free throws and added a key basket that gave Argentina a 80-75 edge with 46 seconds remaining. Vasilopoulos banked in a triple, Ginobili missed in the other end, and even when Spanoulis had the chance to win the game, he missed a three-point shot almost at the buzzer, allowing the entire Argentinian team to celebrate an incredible win.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Euroleague.net
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