SERBIA got revenge after suffering a heartbreaking semi-final defeat against Team USA in men’s basketball at the Paris Olympics.
The European nation denied the Americans the chance to win their first gold medal in men’s water polo less than 24 hours after falling to the ground.
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Nikola Jokic and his Serbian teammates gave Team USA a run for their money, holding a double-digit lead for three quarters in the battle for a spot in the men’s basketball final.
But America’s stars staged a stunning comeback in the fourth quarter, with Steph Curry, LeBron James and Joel Embiid leading the final charge.
The next day, the Serbian water polo team avenged Jokic and Co.
The back-to-back Olympic champions beat the USA in Friday’s semi-final 10-6 to play Croatia for the gold medal.
The two teams faced each other for much of the first half.
After the first period ended with the score tied at 2-2, Serbian brother duo Petar and Nikola Jaksic gave their country a two-goal lead.
Luca Cupido pushed the USA to 4-3 with 3:23 left in the second.
But the Americans were outscored 6-3 throughout the rest of the match to secure the victory.
Olympic fans noted that the triumph must have provided some sort of comfort to Serbia after their crushing defeat on the basketball court the day before.
“Serbia took revenge on the USA in the swimming pool!” one posted on X.
“Congratulations to Serbia for bouncing back in water polo after such a difficult and painful loss in basketball!” another added.
“It looks like Serbia got revenge after all,” said a third.
“Yesterday Serbia led most of the match, but only in the last 8 minutes did Curry and LeBron intimidate poor Serbia. But Serbia beat them in SF men’s water polo today,” wrote one.
The US men’s water polo team has reached the Olympic water polo final three times – but has never managed to reach the podium.
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The Americans fell to Yugoslavia in consecutive gold medal matches at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and four years later in Seoul.
They reached title contention again in 2008 in Beijing, only to fall to Hungary.
The US team also won bronze in 1924, 1932 and 1972 in the men’s tournament.
The women’s team has been much more successful in the group, especially in recent years.
After winning two silvers and a bronze in the 2000s, the US women’s team won three consecutive golds in London (2012), Rio de Janeiro (2016) and Tokyo (2020).
However, Team USA will not defend their title at the Paris Olympics, having lost to Australia after a penalty shootout in the semi-finals.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
