The semifinal men's basketball matchup between Spain and Russia has generated some early surprises in the first half of play, and after two quarters of play Russia leads 31-20. They jumped out to an early 27-14 lead thanks to some aggressive play and poor offensive execution by their Spanish opponents. Sergey Monya leads all scorers with nine points on 3-3 shooting from the field, and Russia has built up a nice lead despite poor offensive starts from Andrei Kirilenko (1-8 FGs, two points, five rebounds and two blocks) and Timofey Mozgov (1-4 FGs, two points).
Pau Gasol (2-5 FGs, seven points and eight rebounds) is the only Spanish player with more than three points at the half.
The winner of the semifinal matchup between Spain and Russia will take on the winner of the other semifinal game between Team USA Basketball and Argentina in the gold medal match set for August 12.
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