We included China-Spain in the Golden Ticket more for extracurricular reasons than any expectation of competitiveness. To date, the game was the closest fought of any in the Olympics. China, perhaps angry about the insensitive ad the Spaniards took out in a Spanish paper and almost certainly bolstered by a super-spirited crowd, fought hard, leading by 14 early in the fourth quarter.
The Spanish needed a Marc Gasol prayer to get the game to overtime, which is where the Spanish asserted themselves as Yao Ming fouled out and Pau Gasol found himself. Jose Calderon and Juan Carlos Navarro started the game on the bench, which might have been a form of punishment for the Marca scandal or could have just been a stupid mistake with the Spanish coaching staff. Calderon never got into a rhythm, and Navarro offered mediocre play in his 16 minutes.
If China had taken the United States to overtime, we'd be in a catatonic state right now. Marca's online header says something in 72-point font about "sweating red China." Yeah, that seems like a fair assessment. Spain plays the U.S. on Saturday, and both teams should remain undefeated ... we think.
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