Bronze consoles disappointed men's basketball team

By Kevin Tresolini

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - The United States men didn't leave Olympic basketball's drastically altered landscape empty-handed Saturday.

A bronze medal was hardly what the Americans wanted or expected out of these Summer Games. But it was the best they could manage, and the 104-96 win over Lithuania at the Olympic Indoor Hall did provide a measure of satisfaction after an uneven and disappointing tournament.

The result was warmly applauded by the many Americans in an audience of 14,500.

"We didn't want to go back without any medal," said Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson. "We found the courage to put energy on the court, play hard and win against a very good team. I'm glad we finished on a positive note."

In 14 previous Olympics, the United States had won 12 gold medals, one silver (1972) and one bronze (1988) in men's basketball. This year's three losses were more than the team had accumulated in all its previous Olympic appearances.

The United States, which lost to Lithuania 94-90 in preliminary play Aug. 21, finished with a 5-3 record. Coming into these games, the United States had an all-time Olympic record of 109-2, the only losses coming to the Soviet Union in the finals in 1972 and the semifinals in 1988.

Since 1992, when NBA players became eligible, the United States had rolled to three gold medals and gone 24-0 in Olympic play. But its average margin of victory had decreased from 43.8 points per game in 1992, to 32.3 in 1996 and 21.6 in 2000 as the world closed the basketball gap on the United States.

The 2004 Olympics indicated that basketball now has a more level playing field. After Saturday's game, Stu Jackson, USA Basketball's senior vice president for the men's team, said the United States will change its approach. USA Basketball was heavily criticized during the Olympics for putting together a team built for the NBA but not the more team-based international game with its emphasis on the outside shot.

"It's an open book, and we'll see what ways we can come up with," Jackson said. "We used to be able to put a team out in the international community and win. These days are different. Basketball around the world has gotten better. That's a good thing. It's up to USA Basketball to find a way to combat that."

The first priority will be getting the team together sooner and having it play more, he said. The United States team had been hastily assembled and had little time together after nine of the 12 players from the undefeated qualifying team last summer elected not to join the Olympic squad for various reasons.

"We didn't have much time together and, considering those circumstances, we have nothing to be ashamed of," U.S. forward Richard Jefferson said. "We gave it our all every game. People back home were talking crap, saying we were a bad team just because we lost a few games, but there were some good teams here that have played together for a while. It was sad not to win gold, but it was something we can learn from."

U.S. gold-medal hopes had been dashed Friday in an 89-81 semifinal loss to Argentina.

"We wanted gold, but I'll take anything right now," said Shawn Marion, whose 22 points led the United States. "That's just the way it is. It hurts to have to play for third, but we were motivated by the challenge to come back."

Four straight three-point baskets by the Lithuanians midway through the third period put them ahead 65-58. But the United States answered with a 9-0 run, took a 74-71 edge into the final period and held on.

Iverson provided 15 points and Stephon Marbury and Lamar Odom added 14 each.

The United States helped itself by shooting 8 for 13 on three-pointers in the second half. That allowed the Americans to beat a Lithuanian team that shot 57 percent (21 for 37) from three-point range. Lithuania was hurt by a 40-26 rebounding disadvantage and 20 turnovers.

U.S. coach Larry Brown said he'd never been more proud of a team and called Friday's loss one of the most difficult he'd ever coached.

"It was a bitter disappointment losing to Argentina," he said. "Argentina deserved to win. They were very good. To come back and play Lithuania, beat them on a night they made 21 three-pointers and play the way we did, it's a very good thing for American basketball. This team showed a lot of class and character."

Lithuania had won three consecutive bronze medals. Arvydas Macijauskas scored a game-high 24 points for Lithuania. Sarunas Jasikevicius had 17.

"They deserved to win," said Lithuania coach Antanas Sireika. "They got better and better with games and certainly were a far better team than in our first game."

The game began nearly 45 minutes later than its scheduled 8 p.m. tipoff because both teams arrived at the arena with white uniforms, having been given incorrect information the day before. U.S. officials fetched the team's red uniforms from the team's headquarters on the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship.