The arena was half-empty when the game began, but then word began to spread. People began filtering in, eager to see if it was really happening.
By halftime, Helliniko Indoor Arena was filling up. By the end of the game, you’d have sworn the entire island of Puerto Rico had shown up to see sports history.
“We shocked the world!” guard Roberto Hatton screamed.
Puerto Rico stunned the United States 92-73 in the opening game of the Olympic basketball tournament. The loss didn’t do great damage to America’s medal chances, but it was a huge blow to whatever basketball ego Uncle Sam has left.
People knew the world was catching up with the U.S. Now one of its own territories has zoomed past, at least for one very convincing night.
It was the worst Olympic loss ever for the U.S. and only its third in 112 games. It also was the first loss since NBA players started the Dream Team concept in 1992.
That dream is definitely over, fully exposed by a team with a 41-year-old starting center.
“I’m angry,” U.S. coach Larry Brown said. “I’m humiliated. Not for the loss. I can always deal with wins and losses. I’m humiliated because I had a job to do as a coach, and I don’t think we did it.
“You can coach X’s and O’s. You shouldn’t have to coach effort. From early on with a lot of these young kids, they didn’t have a clue what was in store for us.”
Before the game Brown had told his team: “You’ve got to throw your egos out the window. You’ve got to be committed to being a team.”
If they had tried to throw their egos out the window Sunday, they would have missed. Puerto Rico’s defense engulfed Tim Duncan and dared the U.S. to make jumpers. The Americans hit 3 of 24 three-pointers, which led to this gold medal of understatement from Puerto Rican center Daniel Santiago:
“I don’t think outside shooting is one of their strengths.”
Duncan and Allen Iverson led the U.S. with 15 points each, though the best player on the court makes about $25 million less per year than their combined NBA salaries. Guard Carlos Arroyo, a part-time starter with the Utah Jazz last season, had 24 points and seven assists for Puerto Rico.
“We wanted to show that Puerto Rican basketball deserved a little more respect,” he said.
It’s a little hard for a team of young NBA stars to take a team with 41-year-old Jose Ortiz seriously. The Americans also beat Puerto Rico five times in the last 13 months. But the U.S. missed 16 straight three-pointers after Lamar Odom made the first one.
Puerto Rico led 49-27 at halftime, at which point the U.S. had 12 turnovers and seven assists. If Brown was looking for team basketball, he got it. Everybody on the U.S. team was bad.
“We didn’t talk on defense,” Iverson said. “We didn’t help each other out.”
Why?
“They wanted it more than us,” Dwyane Wade said. “I don’t know why.”
The U.S. needs to finish in the top four of its six-team bracket to reach the quarterfinals, and one loss won’t devastate those chances. But after a shaky pre-Olympic tour, was Sunday night an aberration or a trend?
Next up for the Americans is a Tuesday matchup with Greece, which beat Australia 76-54.
“This historical victory of my country doesn’t mean that the USA’s magic has gone,” Ortiz said.
If he ever retires, Ortiz should become a diplomat.
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Rarely at a loss
Two times in Olympic play had the U.S. men’s basketball team lost. And then came Puerto Rico on Sunday night. A look back:
1936-68
Using amateur players, the U.S. won every gold medal
1972
Following a controversial call, the USSR scores a last-second 51-50 win over the U.S.
1988
After winning in ’76 and boycotting the ’80 Games in Moscow, the U.S. wins the bronze behind the USSR and Yugoslavia. It’s the last U.S. team made up of college players.
1992
The original Dream Team of NBA players starts a 25-game winning streak for the U.S.
2004
Puerto Rico beats a U.S. team of professionals by 19.