The US advanced to the Olympic gold medal game in men’s water polo for the first time in 20 years with a surprise victory over Serbia yesterday.
The US, ranked ninth in the world coming to Beijing, upset Serbia 10-5.
The US will play two-time defending gold medalist Hungary in the final tomorrow.
PHOTO: AP
The Hungarians, looking to become the first country to win three consecutive gold medals in the sport since Great Britain in 1920, beat Montenegro 11-9 in the other semi-final.
Serbia and Montenegro, which won a silver medal four years ago as a unified country, will play each other for bronze. They declared their independence two years ago.
The Americans opened up a three-goal advantage early in the third quarter, getting power-play goals from Ryan Bailey and captain Tony Azevedo to make it 7-4, and cruised the rest of the way.
Azevedo led the Americans with three goals, including one with 4:04 remaining that made it a three-goal game again.
The US hasn’t earned a medal in men’s water polo since bringing home silver in 1988 in Seoul.
In yesterday’s classification matches, Greece beat Germany 13-9, while Australia squeezed past Italy 17-16.
Canada beat China 8-7.
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