RIO DE JANEIRO -- In March, Matteo Piano chose to have his second back surgery in about seven months and fix a painful herniated disk. He knew if he didnt get the operation, there would be no way hed be playing for Italy at the Olympics.It was all worth it. Piano is going for gold on Sunday.Now, Piano points to the heavy tape wrapped around his tender right calf that he hurt against Brazil, though theres no way a minor injury -- Its just a muscle pull, he insists -- will keep him off the court. There will be plenty of time to recover once he has returned home from Rio de Janeiro.To be here today, it was incredible, because nobody thought I could be here, Piano said. Its one step. My body feels good.As mighty Italy looks tough to beat, Brazil has no plans of going down lightly playing for gold in its home Olympics, reaching the final when the two-time defending champion Brazilian women could not. Fabiana and the women fell to China in a five-set quarterfinal match.First of all, it is a final. Its different from anything else, Brazils William Arjona said. At home, we are not going to let this get away from us. Regardless of our film study, our commitment, our will to win will be 1,000 percent on Sunday. We will leave everything on the court.Brazil avenged a loss to Russia in the 2012 London Games gold-medal match with a straight-set victory Friday night. The Brazilians are in their fourth straight final and chasing their first Olympic championship since 2004 in Athens.That is fueling this fired-up team, backed by the raucous home crowd at Maracanazinho arena.It is a game nobody forgets. We had a big lead, Brazils Lucas Saatkamp said of the 2012 Olympic loss to Russia. We almost had the gold medal around our necks and they took it from us.Italy, too, has plenty of motivation. The Italians want to win it all after settling for bronze four years ago.Piano knew this would be a memorable run for his close-knit team.He had his first back procedure before the World Cup in Japan last September, for a different issue than the March procedure.I had the choice, because I chose to have the operation only to be here in the Olympic Games, he said. If I didnt do the operation, I wouldnt be here.All of that is in the past for Piano.He is focused on reaching the top step of the podium on Sunday after Italy outlasted the United States 30-28, 26-28, 9-25, 25-22, 15-9 and left U.S. coach John Speraw predicting gold for the powerful Italians.Yeah! Yes! Piano said shortly afterward, still overjoyed by the teams triumph against the U.S. in an instant Olympic classic. Its the best thing Ive had in my life and in sport.On Friday, once the Italians decided to focus on the present and not look forward at any medal matches, We flew! Piano said.Italy is a deep team and the Brazilians realize their next opponent is capable of coming back at any point behind a star-studded lineup and the brilliant serving of Ivan Zaytsev, who served three straight aces in the fourth set against the U.S. as Italy used a 6-0 run to force a fifth.Its a balanced team and I think they have been the most consistent team so far in the tournament, Saatkamp said.For Italy, it has taken commitments from every player to make the goal for gold a reality -- like the spirit and determined pursuit of Piano.We tried to create from the work up this last year such a family ambience on the national team, Zaytsev said. Every part of this team is trying to give his best also like a person, from the human aspect so we are becoming like a family. So, Matteo Piano, hes a part of this family and his desire to be part of this family is really, really huge.Nike Shoes Outlet .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. 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Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set.NORMAL, Okla. -- Dedric Lawson scored 26 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season, and Jeremiah Martin added a season-high 25 points as Memphis rallied from a double-digit halftime deficit for a 99-94 overtime victory over Oklahoma on Saturday.Markel Crawford added 20 points, and KJ Lawson scored 19 points and hauled in 13 rebounds for Memphis (8-3), which trailed by 11 points with 14 minutes to play.To come into a Big 12 house against Oklahoma -- a Big 12 powerhouse -- its great for us and the confidence of our guys to see that we can get these type of wins when we need it, Lawson said. This is what we need to get us going toward January.In matchup between the only two coaches in NCAA history to take five different teams to the NCAA Tournament, Memphis (8-3) scored 52 points in the paint, 32 of which came in the second half, and took their first lead of the game with less than a minute to play.Thats the strength of our team. Were an inside-out team, Lawson said. Its either going through me or other guys attacking and going to the hole. Thats our style of play at the end of the day, just attacking.Memphis shot 87.5 percent (28-for-32) from the free-throw line, including 13-for-13 in the final minute of regulation and overtime.Oklahoma guard Jordan Woodard, who finished with 22 points, banked in a game-tying 3-pointer with 0.6 remaining to send the game into overtime. Jordan Shepherd scored 18 points in the first start of his career, and Jamuni McNeace had 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Christian James added 15 points for Oklahoma (6-4), which has now lost three of its past four games.We gave up a lot of buckets right at the rim, Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. You cant afford to do that against a good ball club. . Just too many at the rim, too many in the paint: We have to do a better job of getting it out of there.BIG PICTUREMemphis picked up the bigggest victory of its non-conference season, avenging last years home loss to Oklahoma in the season opener.dddddddddddd.With the loss, Oklahoma guaranteed itself the worst non-conference start under sixth-year coach Lon Kruger and lost for only the second time since 2013 in a non-conference home game.INJURIES: Memphis starting forward Chad Rykhoek injured his left leg with 5:14 remaining in the first half after a collision with Oklahoma forward Matt Freeman under the basket after a missed shot. Rykhoek received a standing ovation and players from both teams shook his hand as he was carted off with his leg in a brace. Memphis coach Tubby Smith said after the game that Rykhoek suffered a dislocation and that his recovery timetable is uncertain. Rykhoek is averaging 6.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game for the Tigers.FRESHMEN STANDOUT: Oklahoma freshman Jordan Shepherd made his first career start alongside fellow freshman Kristian Doolittle. It was the first time Oklahoma has started two true freshmen since Feb. 9, 2013, in a 72-66 victory against Kansas. Then-freshmen Buddy Hield and Isaiah Cousins combined for nine points.STAT OF THE DAY: Oklahoma took a 35-23 lead midway through the first half thanks to 13 consecutive made field goal attempts. The Sooners started the game 15-for-18 before senior guard Jordan Woodard missed a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. Seven different players scored for the Sooners during the run.UP NEXTMemphis heads home for four-straight games in the FedEx Forum, starting with a matchup against Incarnate Word before the start of American Athletic Conference play.Oklahoma has one more non-conference game -- a neutral site matchup against Auburn at the Birthday of Basketball in Connecticut -- before it opens Big 12 play against Baylor on Dec. 30. ' ' '