USA – Prime for another run at gold

LONDON (Olympics) - The last time the United States women lost a basketball game at the Olympics was 5 August, 1992.

The Commonwealth of Independent States won their Semi-Final clash that day, 79-73.

Since then, the USA has reeled off 33 wins in a row at the Olympics, starting with a bronze-medal triumph over Cuba in Barcelona 20 years ago.

On the evidence of their short build-up to the London Games which has seen the Americans beat Brazil, Great Britain, Croatia and Turkey, that winning streak looks set to continue.

"The flexibility that we have, the versatility that we have with this team is exactly what I thought it would be," USA coach Geno Auriemma said.

"The leadership is exactly what I thought it would be.

"People buying into their roles is exactly what I thought it would be."

The only regret that Auriemma has, in fact, is that he isn't allowed to have an extended period of preparation with his players.

Because of their WNBA commitments, the USA players have only been able to play in the four friendlies and have a handful of practices.

"The only downside is I wish I had three months with these guys," Auriemma said, "even three straight weeks, because it would be a lot of fun to watch."

The USA, even with their short preparation time, are primed for a run at the gold medal.

They boast players that have won World Championship and Olympic gold medals before.

The United States have a squad that takes your breath away.

There are Tamika Catchings, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Seimone Augustus, Asjha Jones, Angel McCoughtry, Maya Moore, Candace Parker and Lindsay Whalen.

Augustus, a gold-medal winner for the USA at the 2008 Olympics who was absent at the 2010 World Championship because of injuries and health problems, is now back in the fold.

The short period of time the United States players have with each other is not ideal, she says, yet the concentration level is high.

That, mixed with confidence and incredible skills, allows the American players to thrive.

"It's been very intense, hard, but I guess we are all just focused on what we need to do," Augustus said.

"There is not a lot of busy work, meaning extra stuff outside of our game plan.

"It's mainly drilling our offense, drilling our defense, making sure we understand the schemes and what we are trying to get out of each set.

"We've all trained together under Geno since 2010 at various times, and those times kind of help build to this point as well."

The USA women are in Group A with Angola, China, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Turkey.

First up for the United States on 28 July is a game against Croatia, one of the five sides to come out of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The United States played Croatia in a warm-up game on 21 July and prevailed, 109-55.

FIBA