Il gol dell’attaccante brasiliano in avvio di partita spiana la strada al Cagliari, che può continuare a sperare nella Uefa. Nel finale il 2-0 di Lazzari. Partenopei spenti nel primo tempo e fermati da Marchetti nella ripresa.

Warm and fuzzy they were not. For a year, maybe more, North Carolina could feel this national championship coming. It was a calculated march, and behind the unrelenting play of Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson, the Tar Heels stomped out Michigan State’s inspirational run Monday night with an 89-72 blowout that wasn’t that close.

Men vs. boys. Big brother vs. little brother. Future pros against a bunch of good college kids. That summed up North Carolina’s 83-69 victory over Villanova on Saturday night. The ultra-talented Tar Heels simply never gave the Wildcats a chance to breathe, let alone whip up a fresh dose of Final Four magic. Ty Lawson scored 22 points, Wayne Ellington had 20 more and the Tar Heels, with their four, five, maybe more NBA-caliber players, stayed on a path that has seemed almost certain since the season began in November. Tyler Hansbrough had 18 points and 11 rebounds to make this a quite successful return to the Final Four after a remarkable dud last year in a semifinal loss to Kansas. Next up, North Carolina (33-4) goes for its second title in five years Monday against Michigan State, an 82-73 winner over Connecticut.

As his Michigan State teammates hustled downcourt, Kalin Lucas looked around at a stadium ablaze in green and white, turned on his megawatt smile and raised both his arms. No worries, he seemed to be saying, we’ve got you. Carrying an entire state knocked down by the economic crisis is a lot to ask of a group of college kids, but the Spartans are proving they’re more than up to the task. It’s nothing but good news now. Lucas scored 21 points, Raymar Morgan broke out of his late-season slump with 18 and nine rebounds, and the smaller Spartans ran roughshod over Hasheem Thabeet and Connecticut in an 82-73 upset in the Final Four on Saturday night.

Hot favourites the United States won Olympic men’s basketball gold by outgunning Spain 118-107 in a final of hard fouls and flying elbows. The American players whooped with joy at the final buzzer before forming a huddle and dancing around the centre circle as chants of “USA, USA” erupted from the crowd of 18,000.

Gli Stati Uniti tornano a vincere l’oro, che mancava da Sydney 2000. Contro i campioni del mondo finisce 118-107. Partita stupenda: interpreti strepitosi Wade e Fernandez, ma i canestri decisivi sono di Bryant.

Title favourites United States beat defending champions Argentina 101-81 in a bruising game to reach the Olympic men’s basketball final. Fired up by an eyeball-to-eyeball clash with Argentina’s Fabricio Oberto, Carmelo Anthony led the US victory drive with 21 points. Luis Scola carried the fight for Argentina with 26. Argentina lost Manu Ginobili, the tournament’s leading scorer, in the first quarter, making it virtually impossible to match the superior firepower of the Americans.

Manca solo una partita, poi la redenzione degli Stati Uniti sarà compiuta. Nella semifinale più attesa battono l’Argentina 101-81 (49-40) e tornano in finale 8 anni dopo Sydney. Ma sulla sfida pesa l’infortunio di Manu Ginobili, l’ennesimo alla caviglia, dopo solo 6’30″ di gioco. La sensazione è che neppure con l’asso degli Spurs in campo, stavolta l’Argentina avrebbe potuto competere.

The Americans will take on Spain in Sunday’s gold medal showdown, a team they blew out in the group stages of the Beijing Games. Spain defeated Lithuania 91-86 in the other semi-final.

Ventiquattro anni dopo i Giochi di Los Angeles la Spagna torna in una finale olimpica. Batte la Lituania 91-86 (40-42) in una gara tirata per 40’ ma bella solo nell’ultimo quarto, quando Rudy Fernandez firma l’8-0 spagnolo che decide la gara (81-74), sull’abbrivio positivo dato da Felipe Reyes.

The unbeaten United States continued their relentless quest for gold by crushing Australia 116-85 in the quarter-finals. The US overpowered the Australians to reach the last four propelled by 25 points from Kobe Bryant and 16 from LeBron James.

Kobe è arrivato. Dopo essersi dedicato all’Olimpiade come un tifoso e spettatore qualsiasi, lascia per la prima volta la sua impronta sul successo degli Stati Uniti per 116-85 (55-43) contro l’Australia che vale la semifinale olimpica.

A US team of NBA All Stars made easy work out of defeating Spain in a 119-82 victory as the reigning world champions suffered their first defeat in the Beijing Olympic basketball tournament. This victory left the United States one win away from topping Group B, something they will achieve if they beat Germany next week. The Americans used their signature blanket defense and a high powered offense to put the game away early in the second quarter, going up by 20 points with a balanced attack based on an array of fast break dunks and savvy outside shooting.

Gli americani danno una lezione di basket ai campioni del mondo imponendosi 119-82, ma allungando sul 56-36 prima del riposo lungo. Grande difesa e contropiede spettacolari le armi vincenti dei ragazzi di coach Krzyzewski. Punito l’atteggiamento da fenomeni degli iberici.

Le stelle americane liquidano 92-69 gli ellenici in un match senza storia vendicando il k.o. subito nella semifinale mondiale 2006. Gara in archivio già dopo il primo tempo: sabato sfida stellare tra i ragazzi di coach Krzyzewski e la Spagna campione del Mondo. L’Argentina ferma la Croazia.

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