RIO DE JANEIRO -- In the last three Olympics it was a semifinal matchup, the penultimate step on the winners climb to the gold-medal podium.Now the U.S. mens basketball team meets Argentina in the quarterfinals, and the stakes couldnt be clearer.The Americans win, or suffer their greatest Olympic failure ever.The Argentines win, or say gdbye to their Golden Generation.Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola did the punching when the U.S. was knocked down to its lowest point 12 years ago, and the Americans, whove handled them every time since, expect their proud opponents to have one last gd fight in them.Guys like that, theyve been together and so well-coached and theyve helped international basketball take giant steps forward, and we know thats what were playing on Wednesday, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said.Its the third game of quarterfinal Wednesday, which opens with Australia playing Lithuania. Rivals France and Spain play next -- with the winner getting the U.S.-Argentina winner -- and Croatia faces Serbia in the nightcap.Any of those teams should believe in its chances after the Americans were challenged like never before under Krzyzewski in the preliminary round, winning their last three games by 10, three and three points.Its a far cry from last month, when the U.S. beat Argentina 111-74 in an exhibition game in Las Vegas, back when even rival teams seemed to be conceding gold to the Americans.Nobody is doing that now.When we played them a month ago, I said what I thought it was. We werent there, we couldnt compete, Scola said. A month went by, I dont know, maybe they didnt play that well this month, they got a little comfortable and play a little worse. Maybe we got better this month and the difference is much smaller. Maybe.Its just one game, anything can happen. But we dont think its going to be easy.Nor do the Americans, still thinking of what Argentina used to be, instead of the team it is now.Ginobili is 39 and Scola 36, almost certainly playing in their last Olympics, and the aging Argentines lked out of gas Monday when they were blown out by Spain, two days after needing two overtimes to outlast Brazil 111-107. They lack size to match the Americans tandem of DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan -- the 6-ft-8 Scola often has to play center -- and at times in the exhibition rout it appeared the U.S. could keep grabbing offensive rebounds until it finally scored.But inside Carioca Arena 1, which has been filled with so much light blue and white during Argentinas games that it resembles clouds in the sky, the Americans believe their undersized opponents will stand tall.They match up with anybody in that they will put their heart, their soul and their bodies out on the court against you, and anybody that does that has a chance to win, Krzyzewski said. And Ive never seen an Argentina team go on the court not thinking that they could win and we expect that from them.The U.S. teams that won gold in 2008 and 2012 overpowered Argentina in the semifinals, but those teams were loaded with All-NBA players. This is just an NBA team, not an All-NBA one, not after players such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrk stayed home.Thats left these Americans lking more like 2004, when they scrambled to put together an unprepared team that didnt have much of a talent advantage on its opponents. The U.S. was beaten 89-81 in the semis by Argentina, which then beat Italy for the championship, earning its Golden Generation nickname.Carmelo Anthony, in his fourth Olympics, remembers watching part of the gold-medal game with the Americans, who had to hang around to collect their bronze medals.It was just hard to watch, he said. That was a moment where we expected to kind of be at. We werent there. We werent the champions of the world at that point in time.That third-place finish matched the Americans worst at the Olympics, one of only three times in their 17 appearances they didnt win gold.Lose Wednesday, and they watch Argentina celebrate again -- and this time leave an Olympics empty-handed for the first time.They can sht and theyre playing with confidence. But at the end of the day, its about us, U.S. forward Kevin Durant said. I understand were playing against Argentina and we respect them, but its about how we come out.---AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed to this report.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney Adidas Superstar Scontate . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Adidas Superstar Saldi . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. http://www.adidassuperstarscontate.it/ . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. From Pierre LeBrun While Anaheim GM Bob Murray said earlier this season he was not going to trade Jonas Hiller despite the fact hes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, some sources have told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun that Murray might be willing to move another goalie. Adidas Superstar Outlet Italia . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). Adidas Superstar Italia . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Twelve stitches to the lip have made meal times a challenge, but Adam Colemans appetite for Test rugby has only increased after the Wallabies finally snapped a six-match losing streak.Coleman was one of the Wallabies best performers in the 23-17 victory over the Springboks in Brisbane last weekend, and he will carry an extra memento of his maiden victory in green and gold following a huge hit in the second half.It proved to be a critical moment in the match, t, with Coleman getting back to his feet to make a key second-effort tackle that helped shut down a promising Springboks attack.I came off and didnt come back on, Coleman said. I think it was, I dont know, about the 60-minute mark. I copped a head or a shoulder to the lip, and they stitched me up when the game was still on.The straws my best friend at the moment...I can pretty much eat anything, just very slowly. It just takes me about an hour to get through a bowl of cereal. Its just niggle, but its not going to affect me.While the stitches will be out before t long, the memory of his first Test try will serve as a far more permanent reminder of Colemans first taste of Test success.Having come off the bench on debut in the third Test loss to England and then spent 10 minutes on the sidelines for a shoulder charge when starting in Bledisloe II, Colemans introduction to the top level had been annything but glorious.ddddddddddddut a first-half five-pointer in Brisbane means he can now forget that, and bask in the glory of 33 percent try-scoring strike rate.It was unreal, I think Ive only scored one try at Super level let alone Test level, he said.I just saw some space there, mate; no-one on the wing. So I thought Id go out there and give myself a shot. I didnt think Willy G [Will Genia] actually heard me, but he saw me and fortunately enough it [the pass] hit me.While the Wallabies managed to get a drought-breaking win in Brisbane, the lineout again presented problems for Michael Cheikas side.There were some improvements on Australias efforts at the set-piece from twin Bledisloe defeats, but half-back Will Genia was still forced to deal with some untidy ball while the Wallabies also failed to mount a lineout drive when in try-scoring range.Were still learning, Im still learning, Im still developing lineouts and thats us as a team t, Coleman replied when asked about the challenge of calling the set-piece.Weve got some young guys in our team and were growing as a group, and I think were on the way up there.The Wallabies face the Pumas in Perth on Saturday night, with Michael Cheika due to name his side on Thursday. ' ' '