Tonight's Suns-related FIBA Americas action will tip off a bit earlier than usual with a 4pm Pacific/7pm Eastern matchup featuring Leandro Barbosa's Brazil vs. Uruguay. Brazil is coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss to Argentina, so it seems they'll either be fired up looking for revenge, or else tired and ripe for the letdown. Hopefully it's the former. I'm still holding out hope that Brazil might manage to snag that #2 spot to qualify for the Olympics. They showed last night that it's possible, they just need that last little bit of "oomph" to get it done. A win tonight would assure them a spot in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Team USA will have its own match with Argentina tonight at 9pm Pacific/12am Eastern. Two teams will walk in undefeated, and only one will leave with its record unblemished. Regrettably, the late start time likely means there won't be a postgame recap from me for this game, though I will certainly be watching. But don't despair--something tells me these two teams are destined to meet again in the gold medal game on Sunday.
Brazil vs. Uruguay will be on NBATV, FSN (in certain areas), and NBA.com. USA vs. Argentina will be on ESPN2.
Wish List:
- Nice work from Amare Stoudemire the past two games. More, please.
- Leandro Barbosa's shooting seems to alternate from game to game between really good and less than stellar. Last night (5 of 18) was definitely the latter, so he should be due for a big game if the pattern holds.