Sixteen years later, Angola is no joke

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Aug 12, 2008 | by Jeff Faraudo

BEIJING _ Angola no longer is the joke of the Olympic basketball tournament, and no one appreciates that more than the U.S. team.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Oakland-raised scouting director Tony Ronzone provided the team with a succinct report on what to expect from Angola: ``They play with great heart and will never quit.''

``They followed the scouting report,'' Krzyzewski said. ``It was an honor to play against them.''

Sixteen years ago, at the Barcelona Olympics, the Americans trashed the Angolans 116-48, with Charles Barkley delivering an exclamation point in the form of a nasty elbow to an under-sized opponent.

The dominant team on the continent of Africa for two decades, Angola competed well for portions of the first half, actually leading 9-6 and trailing just 39-32 with 4 minutes left in the second quarter.

But the Americans responded 12 straight points _ seven of them by LeBron James _ and the game was never close again as the Americans prevailed 97-76.

Angola had lost three previous Olympic meetings with the U.S. by an average margin of 47 points. They couldn't handle the U.S. pressure _ turning the ball over 25 times _ but they embraced the experience.

``We know they're the best players in the world. It was a lot of fun,'' said Angola's Joaquim Gomes. ``In the second quarter, they dished the ball into LeBron (James) and he made a left-handed dunk. It was amazing.''

Dwyane Wade, who led the U.S. squad with 19 points, said he and his teammates have an appreciation for what it means to an African club to face NBA players.

``No question, we understand that the NBA is the cream of the crop and we have the unbelievable opportunity of representing the NBA and our country,'' he said. ``Every time we take foot not only on a basketball court, but outside our hotel, we're being watched, we're being looked at for how we carry ourself and what we do.''

The play was sometimes sloppy on Tuesday, but the Americans never did anything to embarrass their opponent _ or themselves.

Krzyzewski said no one was looking ahead to Thursday's duel with Greece, which upset the Americans 101-95 at the 2006 World Championships.

``We played with really good energy and in spurts played some really terrific basketball,'' the Duke coach said. ``Our goal wasn't to win by a certain margin, but to really work hard and keep up our pressure. Overall, I was very pleased by tonight.''

The U.S. no doubt will have to play better against Greece, which improved to 2-0 with an 87-64 rout of Germany.

The Americans benefited from none of the energy that greeted their game two nights earlier against host China. No presidents showed up and most of the international media members on hand to gawk Sunday sat this one out.

Center Dwight Howard scored 14 points for the U.S. while James and Carmelo Anthony each had 12. Carlos Morais, a 22-year-old guard, led Angola with 24 points, but had 10 turnovers.

Contact Jeff Faraudo at jeffscribe@aol.com