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Fresh off beating Argentina in the quarterfinals, Team USA will face a familiar foe in the semifinals.
Spain was the team most expected the Americans to face in the gold medal game, but the Europeans powers struggled early in the tournament and are just now rounding into their best form. In their quarterfinals matchup, they trounced France and there shouldn’t be any doubt as to where they stand heading into their showdown with Team USA. This is also the third straight Olympics where these two teams have faced off.
For Kyrie Irving, he’ll be matched up with Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio. While Rubio isn’t a great shooter, he’ll test Irving in the pick and roll and as a passer. Rubio is also the best defender Irving has seen in the Olympics to date.
Who: Team USA vs. Spain
Location: Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Time: 2:30 p.m. EST
TV: NBC Sports Network
Online: NBC Sports App/NBCOlympics.com