LONDON – The US men's and women's basketball teams made their expected sweep of London gold but it was not an open and shut case for the NBA stars in a tough test in the gold medal game against a polished Spain team. The US men made it look easy through most of the tournament with some extraordinary ‘hybrids' – supremely talented players able to thrive in a variety of roles. A spate of injuries before the final US training camp robbed the American men of some of their most potent pivot men, including Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh. That left the rough-edged Tyson Chandler as the team's only true center and a creative mix of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony teaming up with Kevin Love filled the breach with coach Mike Krzyzewski conducting the crew with a most subtle hand. The scoring prowess of three-point supremo Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant made it relatively smooth, with seven wins taken by an average of 35 points until the Americans came up against a legitimate challenge in the final against Spain. That tooth and nail fight against an inspired Spanish team with a big advantage in low post height carried into the fourth quarter with only one point separating the Beijing finalists before the Americans prevailed 107-100 to retain their crown. Credit Krzyzewski, who let some of the strain show when a questioner wondered after the semifinals whether any coaching was really required, and if all the US had to do was roll the ball out on the court and let their NBA talents do the rest. In a game of 19 lead changes, the US men denied Spain the gold medal again but it was far from easy. Bronze medal winner Russia beat Argentina on the strength of a partnership that should bring smiles to the management of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. Russia was led by former NBA All-Star Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved in their bronze medal victory over Argentina. Kirilenko and Shved will be spending next season trying to win for the T-Wolves. It was a much more predictable golden ride for the US women, who ran their Olympic winning streak to 41 games when they beat France by 36 points for a fifth successive gold. The depth of the US women's team proved unbeatable. — Reuters
