An entertaining obstacle

What do you expect out of a basketball Game? Some excitement? A few superstars? Or just a taste of patriotism? Anyone at the Wukesong Indoor Arena on August 10 - the opening Olympic game - will get a sampling of all this.

The game, featuring gold-medal favorite the US against China, is a mixed bag for the host nation. Chinese coaches, for example, are probably not too thrilled with such a monstrous obstacle in China's group.

But for fans, it's party time - an opening showdown against such a star-studded and entertaining team is a dream come true for any hoops enthusiast.

China and the US are not exactly rivals given the fact that the US has routed China in nine out of 10 meetings. China's only win came in 2001 at the International Universiade when a team led by Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi and Menk Bateer beat a group of American college students.

But with the NBA gaining momentum in China since Yao joined the league in 2002, fans are eager to see Yao block Kobe Bryant shots and Yi Jianlian play one-on-one against LeBron James. Watching these stars is even more exciting than watching the home team play against a group of international players who have never appeared on Chinese television and are largely unknown.

In an online poll conducted by chinadaily.com.cn, 76 percent of participants said they would prefer to watch a match-up against the US stars than to see China achieve a better result with an easier opponent.

"The interest in China is just remarkable and now we will see China playing the USA on the opening day, so this is going to be something," FIBA president Bob Elphinston said after the draw last week.

China received a tough draw when it was placed in Group B along with the US, defending world champion Spain and Angola. Two other teams will fill out the group, following the 12-team Olympic qualifier to be held in July in Greece.

"I don't have God's telephone number, so I cannot choose opponents," China's head coach Jonas Kazlauskas told Xinhua through interpreter.

Despite the increasing public interest, the coach said, beating the US is nothing short of a "mission impossible" for the home team.

Since their first Olympic showdown in 1984, when American college players crushed China 97-48 at the Los Angeles Games, China has never even been close - it lost by 49 points in 1988, 63 points in 1996 and 47 points in 2000.

China has fared slightly better at the World Championships, but only slightly - it came as close as it ever has in 2002, losing by only 19 in Indianapolis but then lost by 31 points in Japan in 2006.

Despite the huge opening-game task in front of them, China's players are undaunted.

"We won't give it up even though there might be a gap between us," said Chinese captain Li Nan. "An Olympic opening game means a lot for us, we will fight as hard as we can no matter who we play against.

"The US is one of the best teams in the world, and as far as I know, they will send the best players to Beijing this time. But we are a different team now. We have two NBA players (Yao and Yi) and one former NBA player (Wang) in the starting lineup, so I think we are pretty competitive as well."

The US team will convene for a training camp in Las Vegas in late June. A 12-man roster and three alternates will be announced by June 30.

Once the world's undisputed basketball superpower, US "Dream Teams" stacked with NBA greats made a mockery of international opponents at the end of the last century, coasting to gold medals in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

But that dominance has faded in recent years.

In the 2002 Worlds, the Americans lost three times and finished an embarrassing sixth. In the 2004 Olympics in Greece, Team USA again lost three games and settled for a bronze medal.

US officials hope to reassert the team's status as the best in the world.

"We have a unique opportunity right now not just to go for the gold medal in Beijing, but to set a standard for how the game should be played in our own country," US head coach Mike Krzyzewski said earlier this year. "The teamwork, camaraderie, enthusiasm, attention to detail, this team is showing that.

"Hopefully, we will show it at an even higher level. It's not one highlight, a dunk, but an appreciation for how to play the game."

(China Daily 05/13/2008 page22)