At first I would like to say that it was the best basketball game I have ever watched, as fas as the “spactacle” is concerned. Great shots, dunks, tactics (from one side only) , nerve, physical game etc etc. Finally, the team USA managed to win, because “that was the right thing to happen”. They played well but as “The beatles” were singing, they ”got high with a little help from their friends”, the three referees who were not courageous enough to play 50-50. They allowed the physical and cruel play of the Americans, and in some cases they applied the rule “no blood – no foul”. It was amazing at the end of the third period. It was funny when Marc Gasol scored and instead of a goal-foul they gave the ball from outside. They closed their eyes on an obvious offensive foul of LeBron (which was followed by an excellent shoot by Lebron).
I do not want to say that the Americans did not play well. It is just that in all games, when they face difficulties, the players of ALL THE USA Basketball Teams, they loose temper and they do not know how to react. They start shooting from long distance and they got nervous in deffense. The same happenned in Saitama two years ago, when Greece came back from a -15, and the same was likely to happen today, if these three had palyed 50-50.
Concerning my friend Fotios, and his comments, I am devoting to him the following:
You can’t say enough about Spain’s performance tonight. With Jose Calderon injured and the game refereed by a group of men who may never have actually seen a basketball game before this one, Spain went out there with a 17-year-old point guard and nearly pulled the upset of the Olympics. Rudy Fernandez finished with 22 points, Pau Gasol went for 21 and 6, and Ricky Rubio went for 6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. (from slamonline.com).
Something else interesting, are the comments at the site: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/24082008/58/beijing-2008-usa-outgun-spain-win-gold.html
Everybody complains about the referees…
