Five members of the gold medal winning line-up at the 2008 Beijing Games were included in the 12-man US Olympic basketball team announced by USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo on Saturday.

LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Deron Williams return for another bid for Olympic glory and will spearhead a potent roster in London where the US are favourites.

Colangelo announced the selections after two US team training sessions in Las Vegas, though final approval is still required by the US Olympic Committee.

"We projected we would have difficulty getting down to a roster of 12, regardless of the number of injuries that have taken place, because they are such an outstanding group of people and athletes," Colangelo said in a statement.

"The final selections keep us in concert with our game plan to have athleticism, versatility and strong depth on our roster. I think our final roster epitomises all of that."

The US team had been hit by a recent rash of injuries to several leading candidates, including Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat players Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

"We have benefited so much from having a pool of outstanding players who are committed, and as a result the selection is difficult," US coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

"But it's the best challenge that you could have because everyone has been so committed."

Meanwhile, Russia and Lithuania secured their Olympic places by advancing to the final of the qualifying tournament in Venezuela on Saturday night.

Alexey Shved poured in 22 points to lead the Russians to an 85-77 victory over Nigeria in the first semi-final in Caracas and then Jonas Maciulis' 19-point haul helped Lithuania stroll past Dominican Republic 109-83.

The losing semi-finalists will go head to head on Sunday for the one remaining berth on offer for London 2012.

-Telegraph Sport

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk