The Olympic spirit

I have always cherished the dream that one day an unfancied basketball team would take the scalp of a bunch of professional American players erroneously labelled the "Dream Team"... oops, did I just say that out loud?!

Well, that day came and, not only that, but during the biggest event ever to be broadcast... the Olympic Games!

"How could it have happened?," the 1992 Dream Team (the one and only deserving of that label) might ask.

After all, 12 years ago those untouchables smiled generously at the pictures their opponents were taking to bring back as souvenirs, so easy was their progress in the competition.

Yet in August 2004, Team USA could have taken pictures of the elusive Argentinean Manu Ginobili, or of the Lithuanian magician Sarunas Jasikevicius, or the Italian shooting wizards Gianluca Basile, Giacomo Galanda and Gianmarco Pozzecco.

There is an anecdote that sums the situation up nicely: Jasikevicius, a double Euroleague title-holder with Barcelona and Maccabi, and the best player of a Euro 2003 that he won with Lithuania, has never been drafted or offered a contract in the NBA.

When questioned on that subject after Lithuania's 94-90 win over the US during the group phase, the best scorer of the match with 28 points ironically answered: "If as many as 28 NBA scouts overlooked me, they can't all be wrong!!"

But not only was this tournament special because the USA did not win it, it was also the first Olympic competition in which we were actually eager to watch other teams play.

Spain recorded a perfect group phase without a loss. Unfortunately for them, the quarterfinal was the night Stephon Marbury decided to wake up, scoring 31 points and sinking the brave Spaniards.

Yao held China on his shoulders to take them into the last 8, while Lithuania disappointingly fell to Italy in the semis but they impressed everybody with their fluent game and natural ability.

As for Argentina, I will forever remember Ginobili's incredible winning basket against Serbia and Montenegro. That shot, executed completely off-balance, precipitated the World champions' downfall, culminating in their elimination after an ignominious 66-67 loss against China.

The "end of an era", the "downfall of a myth"... such terms have been used to describe Team USA's failure.

I would prefer to call it "the Olympic spirit".