USA prepares for semis revenge against Argentina

BEIJING (AFP) - Team USA has its eyes on a semi-final match up against reigning Olympic champion Argentina on Friday, a formidable hurdle in its quest to bring basketball gold back to the nation that invented the game.

The US team of high profile superstars led by Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony will be looking to revenge an Athens 2004 semi-final loss to Argentina, led by Manu Ginobili and a group of fellow NBA players.

"We want to play the best. We want to play the defending champions," Bryant said after the US reached the final four by knocking off Australia 116-85 late Wednesday.

"Anyone who has aspirations to be a champion, you understand there is a sense of pride that comes along with beating a champion."

US players were brimming with confidence that they could beat the South Americans and recapture the gold, but failure at Athens and dismal performances at the 2002 and 2006 world championships were clearly on their minds.

"We all want Argentina. We all want revenge on that (Athens) game. That's the game that we want to have," said power forward Carlos Boozer.

Despite winning all six of its Olympic basketball games by an average of about 32 points, the Americans were careful not to get too overconfident as has been the case in their recent international forays.