USA beats China in pre-Olympic basketball game

World Today

Team USA beat China in exhibition basketball game before Olympics1

Anticipation is building for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Athletes are busy with final preparations. For basketball teams, that means taking it to the court.

Team China went head-to-head with Team USA in California in an exhibition game on Sunday.

CCTV America’s May Lee reports from Los Angeles.

The 2016 Summer Olympic Games are less than two weeks away, but Los Angeles got a preview of what’s in store.

China and the U.S. prepared to face- off on the basketball court at Staples Center for an exhibition game on Sunday.

The U.S. is heavily favored to win this game as well as to go on to win the gold medal in Rio and it’s because of their track record. They have won 14 gold medals, one silver and two bronze at the Olympics but China is still holding out hope that things will be different this time around.

“I really want Chinese to win but definitely USA will win,” a Chinese fan said.

And not surprisingly, Team USA fans agree and already see gold ahead.

Judging from this game against China, the U.S. Dream Team stands a very good chance of taking the gold.

The U.S. defeated China 106 to 57, but the Americans praised their opponent’s performance.

Team USA’s Coach Mike Krzyzewski said he was impressed with China’s pressure and denial defense. “They played really hard and defensively well,” Krzyzewski said.

For Team China, the game was more of a master class in basketball.

“It was good to get the feeling of competing against the world’s best, all NBA players,” team China’s Zhou Qi said.

China and U.S. will meet for one more exhibition game in Oakland, California on Tuesday. And then it’s Rio in August where the two teams play the first game in the race for Olympic greatness in basketball.