RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In the last three Olympics it was a semifinal matchup, the penultimate step on the winner's climb to the gold-medal podium.
Now the U.S. men's basketball team meets Argentina in the quarterfinals, and the stakes couldn't be clearer.
The Americans win, or suffer their greatest Olympic failure ever.
The Argentines win, or say goodbye to their Golden Generation.
Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola did the punching when the U.S. was knocked down to its lowest point 12 years ago, and the Americans, who've handled them every time since, expect their proud opponents to have one last good fight in them.