Team USA soars; Spain sinks in nightmare
TEAM USA shoots for the 2014 Fiba World Cup title today (Monday morning in Manila) riding on an overwhelming ability to push its strength to a desired level at any point in the game.
If the Americans fail to nail down the crown, it could only be due to an anomalous abnormality, like a change in game rules on the eve of the main contest.
The top world basketball power has proved truly unstoppable on its way to the championship.
* * *
Based on the original script and available stats, Team USA was supposed to meet splendid Spain in the finals.
Unfortunately, the host team bowed to underdog France in the quarterfinals.
On a day when it was expected to soar and sizzle, Spain did the unthinkable and self-destructed before aghast home fans.
Nobody could believe how the Spanish powerhouse, a virtual NBA European selection based on its star-filled lineup, could’ve aged horribly overnight.
* * *
The fall of the glamorous Spaniards, led by the Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc, was so hideous it got ranked as a national sports nightmare.
Well, not as crushing as the downfall of the over-glorified Brazilian squad when that country hosted the Fifa World Cup earlier this year—but a nightmare just the same.
In Brazil’s case, it took the forced sidelining of Neymar for the world football championship host to figure in that dismal downfall.
Of course, more than the spinal injury to its goal-making king, it was the lack of a decent defensive structure that mainly led to Brazil’s nightmare of nightmares.
* * *
In Spain’s case, it was the sudden loss of team character that led to its untimely exit in the Fiba World Cup.
Hometown fans could not believe how their NBA-veteran heroes could perform like lardy tourists heading for another banquet as they allowed themselves to be pushed and tossed around by the sharp, hungry French squad.
In the final quarter alone, the Spanish team was not unlike a crew of siesta somnambulists that walked blind and defenseless into an ambuscade.
* * *
Meanwhile, underdog Serbia took the gloss off celebrated France with a 90-85 conquest in Barcelona early Saturday (Manila time), to arrange a 2014 World Cup title clash with Team USA.
It was a great reversal, considering what the fantastic Frenchmen had done to dump host Spain earlier.
The semifinal tussle, which could’ve gone either way until the final seconds, was tighter than the final score indicated.
Both sides played with deep hunger and great character.
