Team USA: On the brink of another debacle

August 14, 2010 | Posted by Benjie

Photo Courtesy: Highschoolhoop.com

The 2010 FIBA-World Championship starts on the 28^th of August in Turkey and this early I could see Team USA heading for another shameful exit. It’s not because I’m subjective but realistically speaking, the current US squad is not at par with the best teams out there at this point in time. Gone are the days when the Americans yawned watching the game clock ticking for the final score.

Before I go through, let’s take a quick look at how Team USA fared last decade in major international competitions. By the way, NBA players comprised all these teams.

Tournament                                                  Final Ranking

2000 Olympics                                                   1^st

2002 FIBA-World Championship                          6^th

2004 Olympics                                                   3^rd

2006 FIBA-World Championship                          3^rd

2008 Olympics                                                   1^st

The team’s vulnerability was actually showed as early as the 2000 Olympics. Even though they won the gold medal, they had been through a rough sailing. In the semifinal game, Team USA barely escaped an 85-83 near upset by Lithuania . In the gold medal game against France, the final margin was a measly 10 points.

Two years later, pretending to be unwary of the rise of the other teams, Team USA sent their ‘B’ team in the tournament played right before the very eyes of their hometown fans. To make the long story short, they finished 6^th place among 24 teams with Yugoslavia emerging as champion.

In the 2004 Olympics, this squad featured the then upcoming superstars LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade joining other big names such as Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury. Its Bronze medal finish including a devastating opening game against Puerto Rico proves that NBA’s marquee players in the team are of no assurance of winning a championship.

Fast forward to the upcoming World Championship in Turkey, the current squad looks weak in the shaded lane. With it, they face an uphill climb against Central America’s powerhouse teams Brazil, Argentina and Puerto Rico. Europe’s best teams Spain, Serbia and Greece add to their woes.

The way I see it, Team USA survives a quarterfinal game via a close margin before bowing out of the race in the semifinals en route to a 4^th place finish.

Categories: FIBA-World Championship | Tags: 2010 FIBA-World Championship, Brazil, Carmelo Anthony, France, Greece, Lithuania, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Spain, Team USA, Turkey | 1 Comment »

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