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U.S. Men Reclaim Hoops Gold

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By PETE THAMEL

New York Times News Service

Published: August 25, 2008

BEIJING - With their elbows locked, smiles iridescent and extreme image makeover complete, the U.S. men's basketball players took their final step into Olympic lore in the most appropriate way - together.

They pulled one another up to the gold medal podium Sunday after a 118-107 victory against Spain in an old-fashioned shootout that could long resonate as a standard for international play. After hammering their opponents by an average of 30.2 points through their first seven games, the Americans outlasted the Spaniards in their first wire-to-wire test of the Olympics, a game as aesthetically pleasing as it was entertaining.

The United States never trailed in the second half but did not officially put Spain away until Dwyane Wade, unofficially the best player in these Olympics, drilled a 3-pointer with 2:02 remaining.

Wade, who led the team with 27 points, stayed in that spot for a second and posed with his hands on his hips and a cocksure grin. If there was ever a night for the Americans to show off a bit, this was it: They had completed their long journey back from a disappointing bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Games.

Carmelo Anthony, a veteran of Team USA, said the squad had put "American basketball where it's supposed to be - on the top of the world."

After embarrassing the United States on and off the court in Athens, this so-called Redeem Team lived up to its moniker with vigor. The players guarded as if their meals depended on it, shared the ball as if they were starring in "Hoosiers" and made not even a wisp of trouble off the court.

Their performance here validated the formula of USA Basketball's managing director, Jerry Colangelo, who had dozens of the country's best players commit to the program for three years. The players' defensive zeal and camaraderie were a testament to just how far the Americans had come from the petulant and selfish group in 2004.

"The fact that we had this team for three years was the telling difference in this game," Colangelo said. "It was a great game. It was a pressure game from the get-go, and we never cracked. The fact that we were together for this period of time was the difference."

They needed that resolve as Spain stayed in the game with a flurry of Juan Carlos Navarro teardrops, Pau Gasol lobs and Rudy Fernandez 3-pointers. Fernandez finished with 22 points and Gasol added 21 after looking soft in Spain's 37-point loss to the Americans during pool play.

But the Spanish team settled for silver and also inherited the title as the most controversial basketball team of these games. Spanish players posed for a picture in a newspaper ad that the International Olympic Committee deemed "clearly inappropriate," because they had pulled the skin behind their eyes in a gesture many felt mocked Asians.

They were also relentlessly whiny during this game, throwing a towel on the court to protest a non-call and earning two technical fouls in the final minute. Ricky Rubio, the 17-year-old point guard sensation, kicked a chair in protest of a non-call and later earned one of the technical fouls. In the end, Gasol complimented the U.S. for coming together.

"They gave a better feeling of a team," he said.

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