First Puerto Rico, next the world?
At least that’s the plan as the USA Basketball team of NBA players qualified to play in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing with a 135-91 victory over Puerto Rico in one semifinal game of the Tournament of the Americas on Saturday.
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Argentina beat Brazil 91-80 to earn the other qualifying spot available here, so the teams will meet in a relatively meaningless final game Sunday for the tournament championship.
But it was Saturday’s game that was the first successful step in U.S.’ effort to overhaul its international basketball program after losses by the top NBA players in the 2002 and 2006 world championships and the 2004 Olympics.
Former Phoenix Suns boss Jerry Colangelo took charge of the program with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
They had a dull debut with a bronze medal at last year’s world championships, but with the addition of Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Michael Redd and Amare Stoudemire to this year’s team, the U.S. ran up winning margins not seen by NBA players in this type of competition since the 1996 Olympics.
“We didn’t expect it to go this way,” Colangelo acknowledged. “We wanted it to happen last summer [with the world championships winner getting an automatic Olympic bid]. But we’re a lot farther ahead now [with] the changes we made, the shooters we brought in, the play against the zone.
“Guys like Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire being part of the Athens debacle and then losing in the world championships, they’re a lot older and better prepared.”
See, it was a secret plan: Keep losing, practice dysfunction and get the rest of the world to relax.
Well, it worked here as the U.S. won its ninth straight game Saturday, and the only one that truly mattered. Anthony scored 27 points, 16 in the third quarter, including four three-pointers when the Americans broke open the game by doubling a 15-point halftime lead and went on to make 23 of 36 threes.
The U.S. shot 14-for-16 in the period, hitting all eight of its threes. Michael Redd got all 23 of his points after halftime. James added 19 points and nine assists.
“We came here and everyone said we couldn’t shoot,” Anthony said. “We proved we can do everything — shoot, defend and score in multiple ways.”
It was a dominating two weeks for a U.S. team shooting for the moon and its first Olympic gold medal in eight years. But make no mistake — it is merely one small step for the U.S. when a giant leap is still required.
Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth roughly the size of Connecticut, stayed close most of the first half, trailing 33-27 after one and 57-42 at halftime with only one true NBA player, journeyman guard Carlos Arroyo. He finished with 21 points and Elias Ayuso of USC had 22.
But the team ranked 13th in FIBA’s world rankings just didn’t have the talent or depth to stay with Team USA.
“We believed our talent and decision-making and players would overmatch them in time,” said Kobe Bryant, who added 15 points. “And it did.”
It was more dramatic and emotional early — with elements of NBA madness — when Argentina beat a Brazil team that supposedly threatened a mutiny before the game.
South American media reports quoted players as saying their coach was ignorant and they would be calling their own plays and making their own substitutions, which sounded much like the U.S. 2004 Olympic team Larry Brown had to coach. Brazil also lost star center Nene to a leg injury early in the game, and still pulled within three points several times in the last two minutes.
But Brazil couldn’t close against an Argentine team playing without four of its top six players, including Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni, who elected to sit out after long NBA seasons.
Those players will return for the Olympics, strengthening an Argentina team ranked second in the world to a U.S. team that doesn’t plan on any more character-building losses.
“I’m happy,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re going to China.”
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