(2 August 1996; Day 14)
The culmination of many years of hard work and 16 days of world-class competition will come to the forefront of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games on Sunday. In a rematch that many have waited for, the United States and Brazil have worked their way into the gold medal women's basketball game at the Georgia Dome.
For the first time since the 1994 World Championships in Sydney, Australia, these women's basketball teams will meet on the hardwood. In those world championships, Brazil defeated the United States 110-107 in the semifinal round. Brazil went on to win the championship game over China.
In these Olympic Games, both squads will enter the gold medal game undefeated at 7-0. The United States squad has defeated its opponents by an average of 30.5 points per game. The closest any team has come to the United States were a pair of 17-point wins in the preliminaries, once each over Australia (96-79) and Cuba (101-84). While Brazil has won its seven contests by an average of 16.7 points, the club had a scare in the prelims with a narrow 75-73 victory over Italy.
Brazil's victories in the 1996 Olympic Games are even more impressive because superstar guard Hortencia Marcari OLIVA missed almost three complete games with an injured ankle. Her return to the court helped Brazil reach the gold medal game as she netted 17 points in a 101-69 quarterfinal win over Cuba and 20 points in the team's 81-60 victory over Ukraine in the semifinals.
Joining OLIVA in leading the squad so far have been Janeth ARCAIN, Marta De SOOZA and Maria Paula "Magic" SILVA. ARCAIN averages 17.8 points per game, SOBRAL pours in 17.3 points and grabs 8.3 boards per game, and point guard SILVA, who wears a headband proclaiming herself "Magic Paula" averages 16.5 points and 5.2 assists.
Brazil will be attempting to upset what many people believe is the best women's basketball team ever assembled. And, the Brazilians can partly blame themselves.
In 1991, Brazil defeated the USA in the Pan American games and then downed the United States in the 1994 World Championships. After those losses, coupled with not winning the gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games, USA Basketball decided to assemble the best team possible for these Olympics Games. Just a little over nine months ago, these 12 women began playing as a team in order to prepare for the tournament. The result is a 59-0 record over the past nine months.
The United States squad features a potent offense which averages 102.5 points per game and connects on 56 percent of its shots from the floor. The U.S. scoring machine is led by five players averaging double figures and seven players netting more than eight points each time out. Center Lisa Leslie leads the United States with 17.5 points per game and poured in a USA women's Olympic Games record of 35 points against Japan in the quarterfinals.
While the offense has led the squad, the defense has proven that it can be just as tough. In the USA's preliminary round game against Korea, the score was a close 60-50 at halftime. The final score was a 105-64 blowout as the United States held Korea to 14 points and an 11.4 field goal percentage in the second half.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Wayne White.
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| An estimated 5.3 million visted Centennial Olympic Park between opening day - 13 July - and closing day - 4 August, making the park the most single most visited Olympic site during the Games. |