US-Russia rematch sparks Cold War of words

US and Russian women's basketball rivals touched off a Cold War of words in advance of their Olympic semi-final showdown on Friday.

US and Russian women's basketball rivals touched off a Cold War of words in advance of their Olympic semi-final showdown on Friday while Australia prepared for a rematch with a difficult Brazilian squad.

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Two-time defending champion United States, a set of Women's National Basketball Association stars, will face Russia for a berth in Saturday's final against either 2000 bronze medallist Brazil or the 2000 runner-up Aussies.

The US-Russia clash will be a rematch of the past two World Championship finals from 1998 and 2002, each won by the Americans.

"There is definitely no love loss between us and Russia," US forward Swin Cash said. "They've been waiting since the World Championships to get another chance to play us."

US center Lisa Leslie claimed Russians had a T-shirt pre-printed declaring themselves gold medal champions, something Russian star Ilona Korstin knew nothing about. Actual or not, Leslie used perceived slights as inspiration.

"Russians get to this position and think they can win. Australia says they are going to win," Leslie said. "We've heard all of that. These are all part of our motivation."

The United States also beat Russia 88-77 at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, helping dump the Russians to a record-low sixth place Games finish. But this Russian squad has high hopes of avenging that defeat.

"We can win this game," Korstin said. "When we lost to the United States it was mainly because we were a very young team. Now our team is older and more experienced and I think we can win against USA.

"They have trouble making the 3-point shots. We can make a lot of 3-point shots. We should play tough defense. They are very strong. They have big stars. If we play tough defense, we can stand up to them."

Leslie is well aware of the potential for a loss. The lone Olympic defeat in 20 years came in a 1992 Barcelona semi-final at the hands of Russian talent on the Unified Team.

"Our goal is to jump on them at the start and play hard for 40 minutes," Leslie said. "Anything can happen. We're prepared for that.

"We're always working even as we're watching a game, asking ourselves, 'What would Russia have done? What could Australia have done in these situations?'"

The American strategy is simple - feed the ball to Leslie for inside shots. If she cannot dominate, hit outside jump shots.

"We go into the game with Russia trying to attack them inside," US forward Tamika Catchings said. "Lisa is so dominating inside. She has been able to score at will. If not, we're all capable of shooting 3s."

"Definitely we will have to step up," US forward Tina Thompson added. "They are very tough and versatile."

No one troubles US coach Van Chancellor more than guard Korstin, Russia's top scorer at 14.2 points a game.

"Russia's depth really worries me," Chancellor said. "(Korstin) has really been a problem. She's really hurt us in the past. She's a young player who plays really well."

The Aussies beat Brazil 84-66 in the preliminary round, sparked by 24 points from center Lauren Jackson, the Olympic scoring leader and WNBA Most Valuable Player.

"I'm looking forward to playing Australia," Brazilian guard Adriana Pinto said. "We will fight very hard. However, we know Australia is the favorite."

The Opals have sizzled through the tournament, taking aim at gold.

"We're playing as well as we can be. We can improve. We can play even better than we have up to now," said Jackson, sporting an Aussie flag tattoo on her left arm. "We're going to play our game. Hopefully that will be good enough.

"With Brazil, we know we will have to work really hard. They are a tough team. They have been to the Olympic finals. We expect to get their 'A' game."

The Aussies must focus on stopping Brazilian captain Janeth Arcain, who hit only 5-of-16 in the prior match against the Opals.

"We must be concentrated and focused," Brazil scoring leader Janeth Arcain said. "I think the key is going to be the defense."