Basketball

Argentina capped a golden day in their history last night, beating Italy 84-69 to win the Olympic men's basketball title for the first time. The South American country had not tasted Olympic victory of any sort since 1952. But earlier in the day...

Argentina capped a golden day in their history last night, beating Italy 84-69 to win the Olympic men's basketball title for the first time. The South American country had not tasted Olympic victory of any sort since 1952. But earlier in the day Argentina won the soccer gold medal at the Athens Games.

Luis Scola was the leading player for Argentina, who beat three-times defending Olympic champions the United States on Friday. He scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. It was Argentina's first basketball medal ever.

Earlier, the American team of NBA players salvaged some pride, beating Lithuania 104-96 to take the Olympic bronze medal and avoid the embarrassment of becoming the first US team to leave an Olympics without a medal around their necks.

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