The matchups are set as teams get ready to hit the court for the Men's Basketball semifinals at the 2012 London Olympics. Spain will get ready to face Russia and the United States will face Argentina.
The actions kicks off as follows:
Spain vs. Russia: 12 p.m. ET/5 p.m. GMT
Spain had been accused of folding their last game of the qualifiers in order to avoid facing the U.S. in the semifinals, but those were just the rumors. They will come into Friday expecting to play against a very dominant Russian team that only lost one game in the first round. Russia finished in first place in Group B after tallying nine points. Their only loss came in a close game against Australia.
Spain dominated when they wanted to, so it seems. They lost against Russia 77-74 after playing a close game against Great Britain where they won by one point. They defeated China 97-81 and Australia 82-70. It does not make sense how a team with the height and power that Spain possesses plays is such close games.
USA vs. Argentina: 2 p.m. ET/7 p.m. GMT
The United States will face a recognizable foe. The U.S. and Argentina will have met three times in the couple of days. They played in an exhibition game at the end of July, and they faced Argentina in the last game of the first round. The U.S. has not lost any basketball related event this year, whether it be exhibition or Olympic first round. Kobe Bryant went nuts on Australia going 6/10 from three as the U.S. won 119-86.
Argntina has a great cast and players that know how to finish at the basket. They barely got passed another talented team, the Brazilians, as they won 82-77. They have yet to beat the U.S. in their last two games, but who knows what rabbit Manu Ginobili and the gang will pull out from their hats. They will give the U.S. a run for their money, that is for sure.
