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Eight long years. That is how long Team USA has been waiting to
regain the Olympic gold medal. For many decades, US basketball teams
have lorded it over in international competitions winning 12 gold
medals in 15 Olympic Games they have participated in. This
domination was further bolstered when International Basketball
Federation (FIBA), the world governing for basketball, allowed
professional players to compete in international tournaments since
1989. This resulted in the formation of “Dream Teams” from the
National Basketball Association (NBA).
The dream, however, ended when Team USA failed
to win a medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championships, won only a
bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics and failed to win the gold
in the 2006 World Championships in Japan. (Team USA had to go
through the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament where they won to qualify
for an Olympic berth.)
To put an end to these failures, USA Basketball
embarked on a program to put together a full team requiring
commitments from NBA superstars instead of piecing together line-ups
at the last minute. The 2008 US Men’s Basketball Olympic team is
composed of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade,
Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Tayshaun
Prince, Jason Kidd, Michael Redd and Deron Williams. Duke University
Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski is the team’s bench tactician.
In the current line-up, six of the players were
part of the 2006 USA Basketball Men’s Team while eight were part
of the victorious FIBA Americas team.
Among the teams that will give Team USA a run
for their money include China, Argentina, Spain and Lithuania. China
has the advantage of playing in front of their countrymen, and boast
of a tall frontline that includes Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi and Yi
Jianlian. Yao and Yi are active in the NBA while Wang used to play
for the Dallas Mavericks.
Argentina, meanwhile, boast of a starting five
that is composed of NBA players. Notable stars include Manu Ginobili,
Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino. While they are stars in their own
right, Argentina’s core players thrive under international rules
and competition. It must be noted that Argentina took the gold in
the 2004 Olympic Games.
Spain can also be considered rivals to Team USA
with brothers Pau and Marc Gasol and Jose Calderon spearheading the
charge.
Definitely, this newest version of the US Dream
Team will not have a walk in the park. There have been some minor
injuries to key players and the team’s lack of height and heft has
been questioned (only two legitimate forward-centers in the
line-up). Also, the team sorely lacks shooters which are needed to
space the floor against zone defenses.
Far from being a Dream Team, Kobe and LeBron
first need to redeem Team USA’s glory by winning the Olympic gold
medal. Their quest starts on August 8 in Beijing.
Please e-mail your comments and suggestions to
raffyrledesma@yahoo.com
SIDELINES. Of the 12 players on the first Dream
Team (1992), 10 were named in the NBA’s official list of the 50
greatest players of the league’s first 50 years. The team featured
such players as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Karl
Malone and Patrick Ewing.
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