It was the last day of the Beijing Olympics 2008, and what an event it was.  China was dominant, as it ended the Games with a total of 100 medals, 51 of them gold, 21 silver, and 28 bronze, to lead all the way through. The nearest competition wasn’t even close, as the USA took 2nd place honors with 110 overall medals, but with only 36 golds, 15 less than the host country.  And if it wasn’t for Michael Phelps, they would be 8 golds less too, although they finished with 38 silvers, and 36 bronze medals, which was the most in terms of medal numbers under the gold.  Russia was at 3rd place with 72 total medals with 23 golds, 21 silvers, and 28 bronze medals, while Great Britain ended up in 4th place with 47 total medals, 19 golds, 13 silvers, 15 bronzes.  Germany rounded out the Top 5 with 41 overall medals, 16 of them gold, while having 10 silvers, and 15 bronze medals to cap their effort.  And that ended a fantastic 2008 Beijing Olympics this year. The next Games will be held in London in 2012.

The Medal Day in Men’s basketball for the 2008 Olympics ended today in what was a truly great Final.  But before that, the Bronze medal was up for grabs as a wounded Argentinian squad went up against the 2004 Olympics 4th placer in Lithuania. Argentina still did not have Manu Ginobili on the floor and had to tough it out without him, but Andres Nocioni suited up amidst his injury. The first quarter started off pretty close as it ended in a 24-21 lead by Argentina, but the second quarter had them pull away further as the halftime score showed 46-34 in their favor. Argentina shot 51% from the field while Lithuania shot only 42%. The difference was that the 3 NBA stars of Argentina (Delfino, Nocioni, and Scola) were very dominant and you could see that they really wanted it more.  The third quarter saw Argentina pull away for good as it closed with a 19 point lead going into the 4th. Lithuania could not get any closer than 11 points as the lead was just too big to come back from. Their NBA stars, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Linas Kleiza had sub-par games, and combined for a total of only 14 points. Their counterparts, combined for a total of 50 points, as Delfino scored 20, Scola scored 16, and the very passionate Nocioni scored 14 points to pace 5 players in double figures.

The biggest difference between the two teams, in my opinion, was really the passion to win.  If you watched the game, you could clearly see that Argentina wanted it more. They dove for loose balls, they played impeccable defense, and they just made life miserable for the Lithuanians. Nocioni was at the forefront of this defensive attack and his teammates followed through. They had 12 steals against just 4 for Lithuania and played much better together as they had 19 assists compared to just 8 for their rivals. The offense of Argentina combined with the defense they showed today, really gave Lithuania no chance to win this game.  A much deserved bronze medal for this squad, it’s too bad they lost 2 of their players in that match against the USA. That could very well have been an upset, but they will have to wait until 2012 to try for the gold again.

MEN’S BASKETBALL GOLD/SILVER/BRONZE MEDAL RESULTS:
USA 118 – SPAIN 107
ARGENTINA 87 – LITHUANIA 75

And in the Gold medal match, the USA “Redeem Team” finally lived up to its billing and returned order back in World Basketball. A once dominant team, it had been 8 years of waiting to get back on top, and they finally did it today. The game was predicted to be a blowout, as Spain was playing without their chief point guard in Jose Calderon, but they surprised everyone as they made the Americans sweat it out until the final 2 minutes of the game. It was close all the way as the USA never led by more than 10 points at the end of each half, and with Spain coming as close as 2 points in the 4th quarter! In the end though, the talent-laden NBA veterans just had too much firepower and closed out the game.

From 1 to 12, the Redeem Team had unbelievable depth, and really no bench players or role players were in that team.  Everyone was a star in their respective squads and their Sixth Man was Dwyane Wade! He top scored with 27 big points on 9 of 12 shooting, all 3 shots he missed were three’s, and he also had 4 steals. He paced 5 players in double figures as Kobe was also instrumental in the win by scoring a 4 point play in the very critical stages of the 4th quarter when Spain was as close as 4 points.  The Black Mamba scored 20 points and delivered the death blows to close the game out. Spain had 6 players in double figures, led by Rudy Fernandez, who is entering his rookie year in the NBA at the end of the year. He scored 22 points to lead Spain and played awesome defense on Kobe Bryant. Gasol wound up with 21 points in another great performance while Juan Carlos Navarro finally woke up from his slumber to score 18 points. But all that was not enough as Kobe was clutch, and the combination of offense and defense from the USA squad was just too much for the Spaniards to overcome.

So the gold goes to Team USA, and they definitely deserved it. It would have been nice to see them go up against 2 healthy squads, but that’s how it is in basketball. Argentina had no Manu and half of Nocioni, while Spain had no point guard in Calderon who was also injured. WIth how the scores went in the semis and today, those 2 teams could have had a stab at an upset, but they will have to wait until 2012 to try again. One thing’s for sure, European teams have indeed caught up in terms of talent level, and have players who are more than capable of playing in the NBA. We can look out for a nice season for Rudy Fernandez, as well as a bigger and more consistent Luis Scola for the Rockets. Who knows, Delfino might also be inspired by his play today and Nocioni will always be his passionate self in whatever uniform he ends up in. Things are definitely looking bright as we have caught a glimpse of the current stars of basketball, as well as the future.

Highlights: DAY 16: Saturday 08 24 08 (697MB)
Bronze Medal Match: Argentina vs Lithuania Game
Basketball Medal Day: Gold/Silver/Bronze Results Summary
Basketball Medal Day: Gold/Silver/Bronze Detailed Box Scores
Basketball Event: Overall Stat Leaders
Beijing Olympics 2008: Closing Ceremonies CD1 (699MB) ; CD2 (698MB)