Spain was almost in real trouble.
Without Pau Gasol, Spain surely wouldn't have had a prayer in its semifinal meeting with the United States today at 2:30 p.m. EST in the Rio Olympics semifinal game.
Fortunately for the Spaniards, their big man will be good to go.
Pau Gasol has been cleared to play vs Team USA, according to source.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) August 19, 2016
Gasol injured his calf in Spain's 92-67 quarterfinals win over France on Wednesday and his status for the semifinal has been in question ever since.
USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski is preparing the team as if Gasol is 100 percent.
“No, we don’t pay attention to that. We expect everybody to be 100%. I’m sure, when you play in this, there are bumps and bruises on our guys. That’s why we did more of a walk-through in our gameplan. You try not to be physical in this quick turnaround. We expect him to play.”
It obviously would have been devastating for Spain without its starting center. Gasol is the fifth overall leading scorer in the Olympics, averaging 17.0 a night along with 8.7 rebounds on 51.3 percent shooting. He's also been playing as more of a stretch five and has made 9 of 16 threes.
Spain doesn't need to worry anymore. Gasol is good to go and hyped for the big game.
Vamos EQUIPO!!!! Con todo!
Let's go TEAM!!! With everything we have! #Rio2016 #SomosEquipo pic.twitter.com/IjXeivDL2c— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) August 19, 2016
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