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For a third straight Olympics, the U.S. men will be facing Argentina. LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were on the team that lost to Argentina in 2004 and they beat Argentina four years ago. "We're ready for it,'' said Anthony before the U.S. walked through its rotations on the eve of their rematch. "We know what's at stake. We know that they're going to throw everything at us and they're in our way of our journey, which is the gold medal.'' SI.com

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, USA Basketball, Team USA, Argentina, Olympics 

If Spain has been pacing itself throughout these Games, then the U.S. has been seeking inspiration. "We don't intend to coast,'' said Anthony. "We just have times where we're just, 'OK, they scored a couple of times, now let's turn it up.' We don't intend to do that. But (Friday) it won't be none of that." "Even after the game,'' said Anthony of the quarterfinal victory against Australia, "in the middle of the court we was talking about this is something that we're looking forward to.'' He was talking about the rematch with the Argentines. "We had a feeling that it was going to happen and we have a chance to do something good.'' SI.com

Carmelo Anthony, USA Basketball, Team USA, Argentina, Olympics 

Wrapped in his country's flag, his voice hoarse from screaming and sinus problems, Andres Nocioni tried to summarize the bond his teammates share in over a decade-long commitment to Argentina's national team. "I die for Manu (Ginobili)," Nocioni said. "Manu die for me." Chicago Tribune

Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Argentina, Olympics 

"I know I said this is our last time during the (NBA) season, but if win a medal, I'm pretty sure we're going again," Nocioni said. "This is like drugs. It's unbelievable." Chicago Tribune

Andres Nocioni, Argentina, Olympics 

The U.S. advances to face Argentina in a Friday semifinal, three days after the teams tussled and Facundo Campazzo punched Anthony in the groin. "It's going to be a physical game," Kevin Durant said. "But we're a physical team too." Chicago Tribune

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, USA Basketball, Argentina, Olympics, Facundo Campazzo 

Still USA forward Carmelo Anthony thinks Argentina forward Facundo Campazzo sank to a new low by hitting him in the groin as he was shooting a three-pointer. "It was definitely a cheap shot," Anthony said. "Something like that, I don't play like that. "If you're going to foul somebody, foul them hard but you don't take a shot like that. Nobody takes a cheap shot like that." Philadelphia Inquirer

Carmelo Anthony, USA Basketball, Argentina, Olympics, Facundo Campazzo 

"Spain has been the top FIBA team for the past five years, but they put a stain on the sport," Leandro said. "Their attitude was uncalled for." HoopsHype

Manu Ginobili, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Olympics, Leandro Ginobili 

Leandro, the eldest of the Ginobili brothers, used crude language to do so, calling Spanish players "pussies" (roughly translated) and pointing at the lack of fight in the final minutes of the game, when the Spaniards were trailing on the score and looked to be in no rush to score or foul. A 14-year veteran of the Argentinean League, Ginobili now says he's sorry for the foul language, but otherwise stands by his words, which made headlines in the Spanish media Tuesday. "If you understand just a little bit about basketball, it should be clear that Spain didn't want to win the game," Leandro, who writes for sports newspaper Ole and does color commentary for state-owned TV station Canal 7, told HoopsHype. "I would be OK with giving the main guys on the team a break, but not with the attitude displayed. When you're 5-6 points behind with two minutes to go and you don't foul and you play long possessions, that's strange, right?" HoopsHype

Manu Ginobili, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Olympics, Leandro Ginobili 

Frank Isola: Kobe Bryant, multilingual superstar & UN Peacekeeper, says of Argentine hitman Campazzo: "He apologized to me so he apologized to my guys." Twitter

Kobe Bryant, USA Basketball, Team USA, Argentina, Olympics, Facundo Campazzo 

Carmelo Anthony, who’s 6-8, rose for a long jumper, and 5-10 Argentine point guard Facundo Campazzo hit him in the groin. Melo mellowed out on the floor in agony. That’s cheap. That’s cheesy. U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Anthony’s drop to the hardwood as if poleaxed, ‘‘He wasn’t celebrating the shot.’’ It was an angry moment in a hard-fought game, and the ensuing scrum put even more fever into the Americans’ goal of winning every game in London by as much as possible. ‘‘It was wrong,’’ Kobe Bryant (11 points in 21 minutes) said angrily of the jab. ‘‘We told him, ‘You don’t do that.’ ’’ Chicago Sun-Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski, Argentina, Olympics, Facundo Campazzo 

With Ginobili at age 35, these Olympics could be the last time for a while we see Argentina play a key role in a major international tournament, which is too bad, because they’ve been such a joy to watch. Scola is 32, and though he shrugs off the notion of Argentina in decline, he does recognize that it is not ’04 anymore. “I don’t feel old,” Scola said. “Time goes by and we got a group of guys who have been here more than 10 years, of course, it is going to come to an end. But I don’t see it that way. Along the way, there (were) many guys who are not with us anymore, and some other guys joined the group later. That’s going to keep coming. But at one point, all the guys who played in 2004 are going to be gone. But I am expecting to play more. Some new guys are going to come, and hopefully we can stay competitive.” Sporting News

Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Argentina, Olympics 

“I think it is important we do good things in this tournament,” Campazzo said. “We will have to make changes later, but we are not thinking about that. We are thinking about winning now. The players on this team, they deserve that.” Sporting News

Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Argentina, Olympics, Facundo Campazzo 

Frank Isola: Tyson Chandler on Facundo Campazzo punching Carmelo Anthony in the groin: "It was a cheap shot." Twitter

Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, USA Basketball, Team USA, Argentina, Olympics, Facundo Campazzo 

Frank Isola: Carmelo joked that he "just fell down" but later told me "it was a cheap shot but we move on." Hope he dosen't take it out on poor Prigioni Twitter

Carmelo Anthony, USA Basketball, Team USA, Argentina, Olympics, Facundo Campazzo 

Frank Isola: Kobe Bryant, who speaks Spanish and Italian, told Facundo Campazzo he was "wrong" for what he did to Carmelo Twitter

Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, USA Basketball, Team USA, Argentina, Olympics, Facundo Campazzo 

Frank Isola: Campazzo apologized to Kobe but not to Melo because "Chris Paul didn't apologize to me." Campazzo accused Paul of punching him in 1st half Twitter

Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, USA Basketball, Team USA, Argentina, Olympics, Facundo Campazzo 

Sean Deveney: Luis Scola, on the groin shot that Team USA's Carmelo Anthony took: "(Facundo) Campazzo got hit in the nuts, too. That stuff happens." Twitter

Carmelo Anthony, Luis Scola, USA Basketball, Team USA, Argentina, Olympics, Facundo Campazzo 

Lithuania shot 58.5 percent against the U.S., which looked complacent after its historic 83-point romp over Nigeria. Prigioni will face his future Knicks teammates Carmelo Anthony and center Tyson Chandler, who played just eight minutes against Lithuania and may be bothered by a sore finger. “I like Pablo a lot,’’ Anthony said. “I like him a lot — an older veteran guard who knows how to run the team, knows how to play the game and is very knowledgeable of the game out there on the basketball court. When we watch film of him and just watching him play over the years, he rarely turns the ball over. He just runs the team, just runs the offense, don’t try to do too much, shoot when he’s open and try to get everyone else involved.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, USA Basketball, Argentina, Olympics, Pablo Prigioni 

Argentina has looked like a contender. “First of all, we respect them guys, most importantly,” Anthony said. “But then again, we go out there trying to win by any means necessary. They’re trying to do the same things.” James put it more simply. “We don’t come here to lose,” he said. Washington Post

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, USA Basketball, Team USA, Argentina, Olympics 

Doc Rivers: I enjoy watching Argentina play. In fact, for the Celtics, we use some of their offensive plays. Ole

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Coaching, Argentina, Olympics