The start of the 2012 Olympics is less than a week away for Coach K’s Team USA squad with the team’s sights set on a second consecutive gold medal. Even though the Americans are the favorites to win the gold in international competition in London, England, there’s been some talk over the last few weeks that Team USA is in for a rude awakening with Argentina and Spain threatening to take down arguably one of the most talented basketball teams ever assembled.
In their second to last exhibition before the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics, Team USA went head-to-head against Manu Ginobili’s Argentine squad. The Spanish national team led by two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol may be the toughest competition for the Americans in London this summer, but Argentina isn’t far behind and they proved that point on Sunday.
Ginobili led the way for Argentina with a team-high 23 points. The Argentine squad played much better than anticipated against the Americans with the ability to keep within striking distance. Argentina was down by as much as 20 points in this exhibition game, but with an assault of three-pointers, Ginobili and company were able to cut the deficit to two points.
As for Team USA, three-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant led the way for USA in the scoring department for 27 points. Durant’s performance was extremely impressive with the superstar lighting up the scoreboard with a game-high seven three-pointers.
Even though Durant was hard to stop for Argentina, Luis Scola, Carlos Delfino and Ginobili were able to keep up and ultimately only lost by six points, 86-80.
It could be argued that if Argentina had kept their foot on the gas pedal in the closing minutes, Team USA would’ve suffered their first loss in 2012. With this close win, USA has been somewhat exposed with Spain next on the schedule.
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