Title favorites the United States a.k.a the redeemed team beat defending champions Argentina 101-81 in a bruising game on Friday to reach the Olympic men’s basketball final. The Americans will take on Spain in Sunday’s gold medal showdown, a team they blew out in the group stages of the Beijing Games. Spain defeated Lithuania 91-86 in the other semi-final.

       Fired up by an eyeball-to-eyeball clash with Argentina’s Fabricio Oberto, Carmelo Anthony led the U.S. victory drive with 21 points. Luis Scola carried the fight for Argentina with 26. Argentina lost Manu Ginobili, the tournament’s leading scorer, in the first quarter, making it virtually impossible to match the superior firepower of the Americans. The United States have won 12 Olympic men’s basketball titles but their dominance has waned in recent years, with bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Games and the 2006 world championships.