Collision course in Spain

From all indications, it looks like host Spain and defending champion US will face off in the final of the FIBA World Cup set in Madrid on Sunday. They’ve never squared off in a championship game at the FIBA Worlds so if it happens, history will be made. At the 2012 London Olympics, the US and Spain met in the final with the Americans prevailing, 107-100. It was the same story at the 2008 Olympics where the US defeated Spain, 118-107, and at the 1984 Olympics where the Americans also won, 96-65, for the gold medal.

The US is ranked No. 1 in the world by FIBA and Spain is No. 2. In head-to-head encounters at the Olympics and the FIBA Worlds, the US has beaten Spain in 15 of 17 total meetings dating back to 1936. The only Spanish victories were a 109-99 decision at the 1982 FIBA Worlds and an 81-75 upset at the 2002 FIBA Worlds.

The US has won four titles in 16 FIBA Worlds in 1954, 1986, 1994 and 2010. The Americans’ victory in 1986 came in Madrid where the Philippines had qualified by winning the FIBA Asia title but forfeited participating in the wake of the EDSA Revolution. The US hopes to clinch another crown in Madrid this year. Spain, on the other hand, has won only once, in 2006 in Saitama, beating Greece in the final. Curiously, Spain and the US never crossed paths in Saitama. Greece ousted the US, 101-95, in the semifinals and prevented an American showdown with Spain for the gold.

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Spain has brought back seven players from the team that hit paydirt in 2006 – Pau and Marc Gasol, Jose Calderon, Juan Carlos Navarro, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez and Felipe Reyes. The US retained only two players from the squad that took the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics – Anthony Davis and James Harden. Three players were held over from the cast that captured the gold at the 2010 FIBA Worlds – Stephen Curry, Rudy Gay and Derrick Rose. So most of coach Mike Krzyzewski’s players aren’t used to the pressures of international competition. Experience is a big factor in determining close games at the Olympics and FIBA Worlds and that was clearly shown in the Philippines’ narrow losses to Croatia, Argentina and Puerto Rico in Spain.

Krzyzewski is gambling on role players delivering the goods as the FIBA World Cup nears its climax. There is no question the Americans are the most individually talented players in the tournament but whether they can come together as a team under duress is still to be found out. So far, the US hasn’t been pushed to the limit in six games, bowling over Finland, 114-55, Turkey, 98-77, New Zealand, 98-71, Dominican Republic, 106-71, Ukraine, 95-71 and Mexico, 86-63. The US was scheduled to play Slovenia in the quarterfinals last night. Assuming the Americans pulled through, they will battle the winner of Lithuania-Turkey in the semifinals tomorrow.

Spain, like the US, has been untouchable at the FIBA Worlds playing before a wildly-cheering homecrowd. Spain opened with a 90-60 blasting of Iran then crushed Egypt, 91-54, Brazil, 82-63, France, 88-64, Serbia, 89-73, and Senegal, 89-56. The hosts will battle France in the quarterfinals tonight and if they win, will advance to meet the Serbia-Brazil survivor in the semifinals on Friday.

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Spanish star Pau Gasol said the key to winning the FIBA Worlds is playing together. “In a team, the family concept is important,” said Gasol quoted by Pedro Fernandez in Ronda Iberia magazine. “A feeling of togetherness and chemistry with your teammates helps you at difficult moments which always arise in the course of a competition. And at those moments of anxiety, the personal factor is what determines whether you come out fortified or you end up going under.” It’s the factor that Gasol said will propel Spain to the top of the FIBA Worlds.

Calderon, the Spanish guard who recently moved to the New York Knicks, said he anticipates a clash with the US for the gold as in the last two Olympics. “Without LeBron (James), without (Dwyane) Wade and without Kobe Bryant, the US is a different team,” he told Ronda Iberia. “I want to win this gold medal. At the London Olympics, it was plain that we were not far off beating them. It’s a matter of having a good day and finishing the job.”

Calderon said the Spanish team is ready to regain the title. “As we’ve known each other since 1998, we’re all friends,” he said. “The team’s fantastic and so well stocked with players that we can stand up to anyone. After all our success, it would be very nice to win another medal in Spain. And if it’s gold, so much the better. I’m excited at the challenge because this World Cup is special. After playing so many championships abroad, it’s like a prize for everyone to hold it in Spain. When you represent your country, it’s always a great responsibility. And you feel the pressure, too. We can’t take it for granted that we’re going to play that final everybody’s hoping for against the US.”