US to fight for fourth consecutive basketball Olympic gold

USA's superstar basketball team recovered from a shaky start to their Tokyo Olympics campaign as they stormed into the final, setting up a title clash with France on Saturday.

Kevin Durant's US thrashed Australia in the semi-final on Thursday and will play for their fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal.

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The Americans overcame an early deficit and ran away with the game for a 97-78 triumph. France, on the other hand, needed a blocked shot in the final second to edge Slovenia.

Saturday's gold-medal clash will provide the star-studded US squad a chance to avenge their lone defeat in these Games.

US were poor at the start of the semi-final, racking up fouls that let Australia build a 15-point lead in the second quarter. They rallied in the second half, opening with 12 unanswered points. A barrage of three-pointers and dunks widened the gap to 19 points.

"I've got to give credit to Australia, they came out and hit us with a nice haymaker," said Durant, who in these Games surpassed Carmelo Anthony as Team USA's highest career Olympic scorer.

"We were able to get some momentum going to the half. Guys came out with that intensity, man, we made shots as well," the Brooklyn Nets star said. "I feel like everything aligned for us in that second half, and that's who we are."

France coach Vincent Collet says his team will bring "fire and energy" to the final on Saturday as they target a second straight upset of three-time defending champions.

The French stunned Gregg Popovich's USA in the opening round of group play at Saitama Super Arena 83-76. It was the Americans' first defeat at an Olympics since the 2004 Athens Games and while Collet admits the US have upped their game since, he remains confident.

"I think and I hope we will be ready Saturday," he said, after his seventh-ranked team scrapped past a valiant Slovenia 90-89 in a breathless semi-final, where captain Nicolas Batum made a game-saving block at the buzzer.

"I know Team USA is favoured, but I hope we will play against them with the same fire and the same energy.

"We know what they are capable of. We will play this final with a lot of confidence."

The Bio

Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity

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Gulf Men's League final

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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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Royal Birkdale Golf Course

Location: Southport, Merseyside, England

Established: 1889

Type: Private

Total holes: 18

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