The last day of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London presents basketball fans with two great games on their Olympic schedule. With three medals, one of the four remaining teams will head home empty-handed while three 
will bring their countries another medal to add to their count. Here is a look at when you can catch the final two big Olympic basketball games for 2012.
6:00 a.m. ET: Argentina vs. Russia - Russia did everything they could to push their way into the gold medal game with Team USA. However, they fell short when Spain completed a come-from-behind victory in the semifinals. Now, Russia takes on Argentina for the bronze medal.
Argentina has been in the medal round for three years in a row. In 2008, they defeated Lithuania for the bronze medal. In 2004, the year they upset Team USA in the semifinals, they won the gold with a win over Italy. In 2012, they attempt to win the bronze for their third Olympic medal in a row in basketball.
However, Russia is playing strong behind the leadership of NBA star Andrei Kirilenko. While playing banged up, he still leads his team into this game, shooting for the medal win. On the other side is Manu Ginobili of Argentina, who averaged 17 points a game over the last two matchups. Those two men will play a key role in who goes home with a medal and who leaves empty-handed.
10:00 a.m. ET: Team USA vs. Spain - Spain came into the 2012 Summer Olympics basketball schedule as the odds-on favorite to face Team USA in the gold medal game. However, they expected to play as the second ranked team in the tournament. As it turns out, they lost twice in group play and had to squeak in here as the underdog.
Don't tell Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka that they are underdogs. They know that beating Team USA is not an easy task, especially after dropping games to Russia and Australia earlier in the tournament. But, the U.S. has stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant to match up with those Spain stars. Add in Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and more, and it looks like Team USA overpowers Spain.
Teams have played well against Team USA in the Olympic schedule all competition long, for three quarters of play. If Spain wants to beat the U.S., they will have to play well for all four quarters. No one has done that yet, and it is doubtful that will happen this game either.
Image from Wikimedia Commons.
recommend
Facebook
Twitter
bookmark 
print
