3/19/2023 0 Comments Derrick rose wingspan![]() ![]() Off they now run to Athens, where a formidable challenge awaits on Wednesday against a Greek national team widely regarded as one of the top four squads in the world - but a team that plays a much more brutish and emotional style of basketball than what the American team encountered in its six days in Spain. "It was a great challenge, and we should take this and run with it." "This is something I will never forget, playing against great players, a veteran team that knew what they were doing out there," Rose said. Ricky Rubio got off a 3-point attempt from the left wing with 6 seconds left that was blocked by 6-foot-11 Durant, and the ball bounced back out and ended up in the hands of Rudy Fernandez, whose 3-point attempt was also blocked by Durant just before time expired. That's when Team USA caught the defending world champions off guard, going out of a timeout to a 2-3 zone defense that completely flummoxed the Spaniards. Spain had the ball last after Rose, starting in place of Rajon Rondo as coach Mike Krzyzewski shook up his lineup in just the third warm-up game of the summer, calmly sank a pair of free throws with 16.9 seconds remaining for the final points of the game. So let's get right to the guts of this game and how it all went down at the end. But a lot of things were positive today - the energy, the athleticism, the veterans were leaders, and Durant was Durant, the guy we've been waiting to see." "To beat a very good team like Spain on their home court is a great confidence builder, and you have to keep that in perspective. There was a little adversity, some interesting calls, but we got by all that," team director Jerry Colangelo said. "I think we led for all but about 10 seconds. And when I tell you they left the Caja Magica on a high, it doesn't do justice to what this victory did for their spirits and hopes. It was a rarity, one of the very few final-possession games I have witnessed the Americans play since I began covering them at the 1996 Olympics. In a thriller of a game Sunday that recharged the spirits of the Americans and left a sellout crowd of Spaniards in stunned silence, Team USA defeated Spain 86-85 in an exhibition game that felt more like an exhilaration game. MADRID - Three things won it for Team USA: Kevin Durant's wingspan, Derrick Rose's will and Jim Boeheim's tactical adjustment - code-named "Orange." ![]()
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