Team USA will try to secure a spot in the gold medal championship, as they take on long-time hoops rival Lithuania in the first semifinal match of the FIBA World Cup of Basketball at 3:00 p.m EST in Barcelona, Spain. (Lithuania vs. USA - Live Stream / Box Scores)
The Americans could have found a lucky break after star-studded Spain surprisingly fell to France 65-52 in Wednesday's quarterfinal encounter. The Spaniards were thought to be the favorites to win the competition because of the presence of several NBA players - including All-Star big men Pau and Marc Gasol.
In a blink of an eye, Team USA's chances of retaining the gold has grown exponentially in just couple of days.
NBA veteran correspondent Marc Stein called Spain's surprisingly exit a testament of widening gap between the Americans and the rest of the basketball world.
"You actually start to fear, after studying what we've seen here in Espana, that the gap between the United States and the chasing masses is actually widening as opposed to shrinking," Stein stated in his latest column.
On the other hand, Spain's collapse could be just a sign of change of guard in Europe basketball. After all, France already beat them last year in the semis of Euro Basket. Lithuania, which finished runner-up in the same tournament, will have a chance to continue the upset party.
Known as hoops-mad country, Lithuania has always been one of USA's main rival in international competitions. On Friday, the Lithuanians will rekindle that rivalry with the Americans in what could be a very intense battle inside the paint.
Toronto Raptors star big man Jonas Valanciunas, who has been a monster in the interior throughout the tourney, will pose a test to US bigs who are also doing superbly well so far.
Kenneth Faried, the undersized power forward of team USA, admitted that the Lithuanians are going to have advantage in height, but promised to find a way to make an impact on the floor.
"We do that against any team," Faried said of the matchup against Valanciunas. "I'm not worried about that. I've been doing that my whole life. I don't care how tall, how strong, how big [they are]. I'm gonna find a way."
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