Shortly after an American woman left Serbia to win the Olympic gold medal, members of the Japanese Army Honor Guard began to practice medal-giving.
The United States already knows the training.
Brittney Griner had 15 points and 12 rebounds to help the Americans beat the Serbs 79-59 and advance to the title game on Friday.
“That’s exactly what we want,” said Breanna Stewart, who double-doubled with 12 points and 10 rebounds. “Everything is going well. I will do everything I can to get home with my money.”
The Americans won gold medals seven times in a row, comparable to the American men’s team, which won the Olympic title seven times in a row from 1936 to 1968.
Sue Bird and Diana Torashi are also awarded five gold medals. This is the most medals ever won by an Olympic basketball player. The Americans will meet Japan on Sunday. The team played in the qualifying round and the United States won 86-69. Japan beat France in the semifinals 87:71, making the host country their first ever medal in women’s basketball.
“Everyone here wants to win a gold medal for us, for us, for everyone who started this streak that brought us here. I think, ”said Grinner. “There are a lot of reasons why we want to win this gold medal so I think we’ll see really good basketball in the gold medal game.”
The US were shocked when Taurashi, who looked distorted after the collision and rubbed his left hip, left the game in the middle of the third quarter. Ed Ryan, an American trainer, spoke to Taurashi when he went to the bench, but she didn’t come back. Taurashi missed three exhibition games in Las Vegas with his hip pointer, but they seemed to work well during the break.
“Yeah, I’ve been struggling with this hip thing for a while, so it’s a little annoying,” Taurashi said. “fine.”
The United States, beating both France and Japan in the game of billiards, won 54 consecutive Olympics going back to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics semifinals.
The Americans have made another strong start in two games in a row. In the following 4: 3 they systematically completed 20-4 runs and took control in the berth of the gold medal game on the line. Greiner had four points in one possession. After the foul was upgraded to a slightly less athletic man, she hit two free throws and recorded a cut in the basket with a spot-on pass from Stewart, with the Americans leading 25:12 in succession.
Neither team did very well in the first few minutes of the second quarter as they had more misses and ball losses than points. Serbia have reduced their gap to nine points after Yvonne Anderson, who played in Texas and became a Serbian citizen last year to play in the Olympics. She finished with the team’s top 15 points.
The United States scored the following nine points. It started with A’ja Wilson’s three-point game, which was 41:23 at halftime. Reed rose to 23 points early in the third quarter and later reduced the deficit to 14 points in the period before Serbia’s reserves began to shrink. The Americans scored the last 5 points to end the game.
Serbia rested the starter after around 24 hours in a game for bronze for most of the second half. The country won the bronze medal in Rio in 2016.
“When we have the last chance for a medal, there is no doubt who wants more medals and who is more hungry,” said the Serbian trainer Marina Markovich.
Serbia only had a chance to warm up 25 minutes before the game. Traffic delayed the team’s arrival, and NBC Spidercam hovering in the square cut the cable about 40 minutes before the chip.
“It was definitely premature for these problems to arise,” said Anderson. “What can you do? We are an hour away and in traffic. I went out but there was a problem with the camera. In the end you were given We have to take things. We were already facing a difficult battle.”
Serbia shot just 30% out of the field, including 15 out of 19 3-point attempts.

Greener leads the US to a gold medal game with a 79-59 win over Serbia – News-Herald

Source link Greener leads the United States to a gold medal game with a 79-59 win over Serbia – News-Herald

Shortly after the U.S. women defeated Serbia to reach the Olympic gold medal game, members of the Japanese honor guard began training for the medal ceremony.
The US is already familiar with this exercise.
Brittney Griner had 15 points and 12 rebounds to help the Americans beat the Serbs 79-59 on Friday to advance to the title game.
“This is exactly where we want to be,” said Breanna Stewart, who also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. “Everything is at stake. We’ll do everything we can to make sure we get home with a gold. “
The Americans are now one win away from a seventh consecutive gold medal comparable to the US men’s team, which won seven consecutive Olympic titles from 1936 to 1968.
It would also earn Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi five gold medals – most of them ever from a basketball player in the Olympics. The Americans face Japan on Sunday. The teams played in the preliminary round and the US won 86-69. Japan defeated France in the semi-finals 87:71, securing the host country its first medal in women’s basketball.
“I think everyone here wants to win gold for themselves, for us, for everyone who started this series that brought us here,” said Griner. “You know, there are a lot of different reasons why we want to win this gold medal. I think you will see really good basketball at the gold medal game. “
The US got a shock when Taurasi left the game in the middle of the third quarter, grimacing and appearing to rub their left hip after a collision. U.S. trainer Ed Ryan spoke to Taurasi when she went to the bench and she didn’t come back. Taurasi missed the three exhibition games in Las Vegas with a hip pointer, but appeared to be moving without a problem during the time outs.
“Yeah, I’ve been struggling with this hip thing for a while, so it’s just a little annoying,” Taurasi said. “It’s good.”
The United States, who defeated both France and Japan in the game of billiards, have won 54 consecutive Olympic Games that now date back to the 1992 Barcelona semifinals.
The Americans got off to another strong start for the second game in a row. 4-3 behind, they methodically went on a 20-4 run to take control with a spot in the gold medal game on the line. Griner had four points in possession. She struck two free throws after a foul was upgraded to unsportsmanlike, then scored a cut to the basket after a spot-on pass from Stewart and the Americans led 25-12 after one.
In the first minutes of the second quarter, neither team could really move much, as there were more misses and ball losses than points. Serbia cut the gap to nine points behind Yvonne Anderson, who played in Texas and became a Serbian citizen last year to compete in the Olympics. She finished with a team high of 15 points.
The USA scored the next nine points, a run that started with A’ja Wilson’s three-point game and led 41:23 at halftime. The lead rose to 23 points at the start of the third quarter before Serbian reserves put pressure on them, reducing the gap to 14 towards the end of the period. The Americans scored the last five points to end the game.
Serbia rested its starters for most of the second half with the bronze medal game about 24 hours away. The country won bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio.
“If you have one last chance for a medal, it will definitely be whoever wants more, who will be more hungry,” said Serbia’s national coach Marina Maljkovic.
Serbia was only able to warm up 25 minutes before the game because traffic delayed the team’s arrival and NBC Spydercam hovering over the field broke its cable about 40 minutes before the tip.
“It was definitely too early to have these problems,” said Anderson. “What can you do? We’re an hour away and we’re getting into traffic. We tried to get out and there were camera problems. In the end, you have to take what you get. We were already facing an uphill battle.”
Serbia shot just 30% out of the field – including 15 of its 19 3-point attempts.