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Spain WCup win, US woes blow Olympic tournament wide open
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The Tokyo 2020 Olympics basketball suddenly looks wide open after reigning champion the United States suffered its worst World Cup, Spain triumphed and Argentina surprised.
World Cup bronze medalist France, and Australia, which was edged out of the medals but pushed eventual winner Spain all the way in the semifinals, will also be in contention.
And not forgetting Serbia, which along with Gregg Popovich鈥檚 young Team USA, was among the favorites in China but was also a surprise victim in the quarterfinals.
The Tokyo Games are just over 10 months away and after some downtime following their exertions at the World Cup, teams will begin training their sights on next summer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exactly what I knew it to be because I have been involved with it before and in this day and age basketball in other countries is not a secret,鈥 Popovich said after his team鈥檚 disappointing seventh-placed finish.
鈥淪o it鈥檚 not like there鈥檚 an epiphany or revelation to be made.
鈥淭here are wonderful teams and wonderful coaches all over the world so there鈥檚 no surprise in any of that.鈥
If the United States can convince the likes of double gold medalist LeBron James to play in Tokyo, it will be the favorite to make it four Olympic titles in a row.
But it remains to be seen whether the flak flying Team USA鈥檚 way after the China debacle scares the A-listers away or stings them into action.
Spain鈥檚 World Cup triumph, sealed with a comprehensive 95-75 victory over surprise finalist Argentina on Sunday in Beijing, was built on defense and teamwork honed from playing together down the years.
It also had Ricky Rubio, the Phoenix Suns point guard who was named tournament MVP, and the experience and international knowhow of Marc Gasol.
Rubio described the Spain team as 鈥渁 family.鈥
In contrast, the US roster was one of the youngest in China and was thrown together at the last minute. The players were still getting to know each other as the tournament began.
鈥淲e were not the tallest or most talented, or in the odds when the tournament started, but we worked hard,鈥 said Spain鈥檚 coach Sergio Scariolo, an assistant at NBA champions the Toronto Raptors.
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 lose faith in themselves, and basketball rewarded them.鈥
Australia brought the Americans鈥 run of 78 consecutive wins in major competitions and exhibition games to an end just before the World Cup, a forewarning of what was to come.
The Boomers led Spain for much of their thrilling semifinal, only to lose in double overtime. The Australians similarly ran out of gas in their bronze-medal match against France.
It left Australia still searching for a medal in the worlds or Olympics 鈥 a barren run that it hopes it can finally snap next summer.
Forward Mitch Creek hopes that the Boomers will have all their players for Tokyo 鈥 they were missing Philadelphia 76ers Jonah Bolden and Ben Simmons in China.
鈥淭his team is going to be a very powerful team when it comes to the Olympic Games,鈥 he warned.
The Australians are still simmering from their 1-point defeat to Spain in the bronze-medal match at Rio 2016.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 forgotten about the previous Olympics, the fourth place there,鈥 he said.
鈥淎nd we鈥檙e certainly not going to forget about this World Cup campaign.
鈥淪o there鈥檚 a lot we can take out of this and build upon.鈥
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