Argentina pin Brazil 82-77 in an all South American thriller – Olympics Men Basketball Recap
The Argentinean men basketball team progressed to the semi finals after a hard fought victory over continental rivals Brazil.
The Argentines were able to hold off a late charge by Brazil to pick up an 82-77 victory, after Brazil outscored them 23-18 in the final period.
Luis Scola led five Argentinean players with double digit points, scoring 17 points and adding 4 rebounds. Manu Ginobili once again had a great night with 16 points and 8 rebounds while going 5 of 11 from the field and a perfect
4 of 4 from the foul line. Carlos Delfino also finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds.
Marcelinho Huertas scored a game high 22 points and 5 assists to lead Brazil, while Leandro Barbosa pitched in with 22 points.
Both teams looked in good rhythm early on and played a tightly contested first quarter, with none being able to take a comfortable lead at any point. It was a high scoring quarter, with 49 points being scored in total.
A two point shot by Alex Garcia gave Brazil an 18-13 lead, but Delfino scored back to back three pointers to put Argentina ahead at 19-18.
Argentina extended their lead in the ensuing passage but back to back three point shots by Huertas right at the end of the frame gave Brazil a 26-23 lead going into the second quarter.
Argentina took back the lead early in the second period through a three pointer by Ginobili, and Delfino’s three point shot extended that to 35-30. Brazil fought hard to stay close to a charging Argentine side, but were unable
to score in the final two and a half minutes of the half, allowing a deficit of 46-40.
Argentina kept the momentum alive in the third period as well, and a 7-0 run capped off by a two point shot by Ginobili gave them a 54-44 edge. Both teams failed to score for almost two and a half minutes at one point in the quarter,
before Andres Nocioni broke the drought with a two point shot to put Argentina up 56-44. Brazil trailed 54-64 at the end of the third period.
Argentina did a good job of maintaining the lead at 11 with 7 minutes left in the game through a three point shot by Ginobili. However, Brazil rallied back to go on a 9-0 run and cut the deficit to only two points with 4:21 left
in the game, setting up a thrilling climax to an entertaining game.
Argentina returned into the game by winning eight consecutive free throws, and nailed all eight of them to again extend the lead to 82-71.
Brazil made one last attempt to get back into the game with back to back three pointers by Barbosa, but time ran out as Argentina took an 82-77 victory.
Both teams were matched fairly evenly on the night, with none having a clear advantage over the other in any category of the game. They shot well from the field, but were mediocre in their free throw shooting.
Argentina were able to go 8 of 8 from the free throw line in the final few minutes of the game and came up with a few great defensive stops to take the victory. They will now play either the U.S.A or Australia in the semifinal.
U.S.A will play Australia in the last remaining quarter final of the night, which is to begin shortly.
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