#4B United States defeats #1A Spain, 102-94, Advances to Semifinals

With their backs against the wall the United States needed a huge performance and they got it from Stephon Marbury. He broke an American Olympic record, scoring 31 points to help topple previously unbeaten Spain, 102-94 on Thursday.

After scoring 21 points in the first five games of the tournament, Marbury exploded, converting 6 of 9 from 3-point land for a team that had been maligned for its long-range shooting coming in.

"I just decided I was going to let the game come to me," Marbury said. "I was going to come in and let it flow."

So #1A Spain falls. The irony was a top-seeded United States fell at Indy to the lowest seed at the 2002 World Championships, Serbia, in this round. Now the US turns the table on a top seed and beats Spain.

This will punish Europe and give the Americas Region another spot at the 2006 Worlds in Saitama, Japan. The rest of the tournament will be crucial. The United States will face the winner of Argentina vs Greece today, and Argentina will be tough, as Tim Duncan would face his Spurs teammate Emmanuel Ginobili. The Argentines also have had the edge over the Americans at the Worlds, but struck back at the Tournament of the Americas last year.

Has Larry Brown and the players been thinking "big picture, just make it now and be ready for the single elimination rounds"?

Yes, those who fought Usama beat those who caved to Usama. Also noted the two experienced NBA announcers interesting thoughts.

Nothing in the lane. In the NBA there are two opposite-facing semicircles -- one to govern jump balls and the other a block/charge area. FIBA doesn't have either jump balls or block/charge. International players are currently taught to draw the charge, and to hang inside the basket. NBA players, because of the no-charge zone, are taught to attack the basket because once they're within a 1.22 meter area inside the basket, they cannot be called for a charge. This rule will be in effect in European professional basketball in 2004-05 but is not in effect for FIBA competition.

Europe's top officials are not permitted at the Olympics because of their membership in the Union of European Basketball Leagues (ULEB), a rival faction to FIBA, which organises its own European competitions for clubs. Israeli basketball teams won both levels of ULEB competition in 2004 -- Maccabi Tel Aviv won the top-level Euroleague, and Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem, which won the second-tier ULEB Cup.

The Lucky Dog. An NBC TV term, if two players tie up the ball, it's a Lucky Dog situation and the team having an arrow gets the ball. Good defense is punishable by the Lucky Dog when the offense gets the ball back because of it.

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