Wednesday February 15, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

U.S. beats Spain for men's basketball gold

Olympics Aug. 24, 2008 - 08:25PM JST ( 19 )

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19 Comments

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Taka313Aug. 24, 2008 - 08:58PM JST

Congratulations to the American team and to the Spanish team for giving them all the game they wanted, and some.
Even though the U.S. won by 11, the game was really close partly because the U.S. team played their worst game, by far, defensively. I also think that the Spain team really brought their "A" game and that rattled the Americans a bit.
Fortunately for Team USA, the Spaniards had no answer for Dwayne Wade, who really was amazing on the offensive side.

Taka
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pizzaboyAug. 24, 2008 - 09:17PM JST

Wonder if having Jose Calderon would have made the diff for Spain. He's a great defender and penetrator etc.

I looked and couldn't find the game on tv, an absolute farce that it wasn't shown (if i'm correct in assuming).
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pizzaboyAug. 24, 2008 - 09:17PM JST

That's Japanese tv that I was referring to.
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Taka313Aug. 24, 2008 - 09:21PM JST

Pizzaboy, The game was televised. I watched it on BS1.

Taka
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pathatAug. 24, 2008 - 09:33PM JST

Congratulations on the gold medal, U.S. basketball team.

The final tally: 36 gold, 38 silver, 36 bronze: 110 medals

The highest overall medal total ever for the U.S. in a non-boycotted Olympics!

U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
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ProudKoreanGuyAug. 24, 2008 - 09:46PM JST

They began to celebrate during a break after some technical fouls on Spain with 26 seconds left, then celebrated at midcourt when it was over with “Born in the USA” blaring over the arena’s speakers.

And who said that USA men's basketball team wasn't modest, right?
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SargeAug. 24, 2008 - 09:52PM JST

"Born in the USA blaring over the arena's speakers"

That song is extremely irritating. Couldn't they have played "Living in America" or something?...
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smithinjapanAug. 24, 2008 - 10:05PM JST

I think the USA was just way too cocky up to the 2000 games, and then after that they were just too nervous/obsessed with gaining the title back. Regardless, though close, it worked and they are back on top.... and I have no doubt that they'll win much more easily the next time around (hopefully the hubris isn't back).
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lazyman0909Aug. 24, 2008 - 10:10PM JST

Great game! The team from Spain played very well. Congratulations America
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rajakumarAug. 24, 2008 - 10:45PM JST

Good final in basketball. Well done team USA/Spain.
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imgoldAug. 24, 2008 - 11:27PM JST

Pizzaboy,

"I looked and couldn't find the game on tv, an absolute farce that it wasn't shown (if i'm correct in assuming)."

You are right ! Non of the basketball tournement was shown on local Japanese TV. If you wanted to see it you would have had to invest more than 20,000 yen and then subject yourself to "The NHK Guy" pounding on your door once a month. An absolute travesty that neither the mens or womens tournement was televised. Plenty of badminton, judo, and ping pong though. Hic ! In any case, excellent reuslt all around from the Americans. 110 medals in chinas crib is awesome ! So much for the misguided who declared China would run away with the overall medal count. The USA is as strong as ever, reclaiming not only this basketball title but also the decathlon and the unofficial title of "worlds greatest athlete" ! Hooray, USA !
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LStevenAug. 25, 2008 - 05:53PM JST

Congrats to Kobe Bryant and co. for pulling it out in the final minutes. It was a close one and very exciting. I saw it on BS1 too and it was absolutely amazing. Good job to Spain for making it more of a game than when they played each other in the prelims. It was just too bad that Calderon wasn't playing. It might have been even closer, and even have lead to a Spanish win.

If you wanted to see it you would have had to invest more than 20,000 yen and then subject yourself to "The NHK Guy" pounding on your door once a month.

It doesn't happen to me. I just receive the bill once a year (I made a yearly contract), and pay it at the convenience store. No NHK guy comes knocking at my door.
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ExPrinceskaAug. 25, 2008 - 07:44PM JST

Greece team is the best!
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pizzaboyAug. 25, 2008 - 11:48PM JST

in that case i'd rather just see the score. don't need to see more americans gloating anyways. bye-the-way, my wife once signed up to pay nhk while i was off at the gym :( 20,000 comes out of my account every summer. thinking about closing my account now to dodge em.
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imgoldAug. 26, 2008 - 12:01AM JST

Pizzaboy, smart move,

"20,000 comes out of my account every summer. thinking about closing my account now to dodge em."

Go easy on the Americans though. The Hoops team was by far and away the media darlings and fan favorite in Beijing. You want "gloating" ? Look no further than Usain Bolt, the poster child for poor sportsmenship at these Olympics. On the contrary, the Americans were the epitomy of sportsmenship and class. Once again they offered their time to charitable events, signed autographs, and tossed shoes and jerseys into the stands for fans to enjoy. Class act all the way !
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rjd_jrAug. 28, 2008 - 07:42PM JST

Wow, an 11 point victory, soooo "dominating."

The diehard "dream team" supporters are already churning out the excuses:

-"B-b-b-but team Spain is one of the most elite in the world!" -"All that matters is that USA won the gold!"

Fact of the matter is, the game was much closer than even the 11 point final margin would indicate. Indeed, the final outcome was not even finalized until the final minutes of the match. Team Spain won a moral victory as they matched the "dream team" play for play much of the game.

All in all, another embarrasing exhibition by Team USA. Fact is, any team that calls itself the "dream team," supposedly with the best two/three players in the WORLD, supposedly in the BEST league in the world, should be dominating each and every team in this competition by at least 20-30 points throughout the entire game.

What a joke, bring back the collegians.
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imgoldAug. 29, 2008 - 11:02PM JST

Some miss placed bitterness here rjdjr !

"All in all, another embarrasing exhibition by Team USA."

How so ? I mean they won the tournement !

"Fact is, any team that calls itself the "dream team,"

Your bad sparky ! This team has not called itself "The Dream Team" ! "Fact is" this team has been referred to as the "redeem team" as in "redemption" for previous failures in these international tournements. Again nothing to be embarrased about. The international game is simply different. Different sized ball, court layout, rules etc. It all leads to different strategies and game plans that have had European teams dominating for years. But make no mistake, those same teams do very poorly when they tour the USA every year playing by NBA standards. The games are different, the international game rewards outside shooting and fast breaks where the NBA game is a power game. The USA managed to win by focusing on defense, which works in both arenas, and a more fast tempo style. In the past they tried to simply set up their offense and take the two pointers. Unfortunately that didn't work when the opponent was hitting the three ! Great to see the Americans change strategy and once again show the world who plays the best hoops... in both the mens and womens game !