Ecstatic players cavorted around the court, delirious fans started samba parties in the stands and the Earls Court announcer went into meltdown — and it was just a semi-final.
Quite what will happen today if Brazil’s women repeat their victory over the US in the Beijing volleyball final and claim Olympic gold again is anyone’s guess.
On Thursday, they produced their most dominant performance of the tournament to outclass Japan 3-0, but they would be wise not to party too hard because in Destinee Hooker, the US team have the most formidable player in the tournament.
Photo: Reuters
She was in devastating form on Thursday, scoring 24 of her team’s points in a 3-0 victory over South Korea that was not as straightforward as the scoreline suggests.
The tatty, but atmospheric, west London venue could be the place to be on Saturday night as the world’s two top-ranked teams go head-to-head for gold.
Brazilian passion and flair up against a close-knit and clinically efficient US side looking for the country’s first women’s Olympic volleyball gold.
Inspirational captain Lindsey Berg, playing at her third Olympics, said it would be a huge occasion.
“Brazil again,” the 32-year-old Berg told reporters. “To win the gold you have to beat everybody. Brazil have got better as the tournament has gone on. They are very emotional and that can be a good thing for them, and it can also be a bad thing for them.”
Berg is one of several multiple Olympians in a US side coached by New Zealander Hugh McCutcheon, who led the US men’s side to gold four years ago in Beijing.
However, it is first-timer Hooker who could hold the key.
The former standout high-jumper pierced South Korea’s defenses at crucial times during a 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 victory and also came up with some crucial blocks as Kim Yeon-koung’s impressive spiking kept the South Koreans in touch.
“It was a really tough match,” Berg said. “The match was played after 20 points, we didn’t have our best match, but we made plays after 20 points and that’s what shows we’re a good team. I tried not to make [Hooker] hit so many balls every match, but when it came down to it today she’s the only person I was giving it to, she was incredible.”
South Korea can still match their best ever Olympic performance if they beat Japan in the bronze medal match.
“We still have one match and we want to do well,” Kim told reporters. “We are here to get a medal, otherwise everything we worked for here and to get here will be worthless.”
After group-phase defeats by the US and South Korea, Brazil have rediscovered their spark. They needed to save six match points against Russia in the quarter-finals, but were never threatened by Japan in a one-sided semi.
Sheilla Castro, a gold medalist in Beijing, helped herself to 13 points and Japan had no answer.
After leading the lengthy celebrations, she turned her thoughts to today’s final.
“It’s going to be difficult, but at the previous Olympics we were the favorites and now I think America are the favorites,” she told reporters. “But with our crowd here, it’s like playing in Brazil.”
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
RSS