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ATHENS, Greece -- With preliminary round play now completed, the 2004 Olympic gold medal for men's basketball comes down to winning three games in three days.

Eight teams remain alive for the Olympic gold and the road to gold begins Thursday with quarterfinals action at the Olympic Indoor Stadium. The U.S. men, who finished preliminary play with a 3-2 record and seeded No. 4 in Group B, will meet in the quarterfinals 5-0 Spain, the No. 1 seed from Group A on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. (7:30 a.m. ET). In the other Aug. 26 quarterfinals games, Lithuania (5-0) will face China (3-2) in the 4:45 p.m. game, Italy (3-2) will take on Puerto Rico (3-2) at 8:00 p.m., and in the night's nightcap, host Greece (3-2) will go head-to-head against Argentina (3-2) in the 10:15 p.m. game.

"They're (Spain) the best team I've seen I thus far. (Pau) Gasol is as good of a player as there is in the tournament, but they're a veteran team, they're a team that beat the United States at home in Indianapolis at the 2002 World Championship. The fact they have gone through their pool undefeated tells you how good they are," said USA head coach Larry Brown.

"The records are out the door. The best teams have to come to play. You've got to win three games to get the gold. So, if our best team shows up, we can win the gold," said USA team member LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers).

The USA is 7-0 versus Spain in Olympic action, but the two teams have not met in the Summer Games since 1992 when the U.S. roughed Spain up 122-81.

USA Basketball senior teams comprised of NBA players are 2-1 versus Spain, having captured a 115-100 win in the opening game of the 1994 FIBA World Championship in Toronto, Canada, and the 122-81 win at the ‘92 Olympics.

Spain's lone victory came in the two teams' most recent meeting. Playing in the 5th/6th place game of the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, Spain rallied back in the game's final minutes to earn an 81-76 victory.

Spain was runner-up at the 2003 European Championship, fifth at the 2002 World Championship, and finished a disappointing ninth in the 2000 Olympics.

Spain is led by NBA All-Star 7-0 Pau Gasol, who is averaging team bests of 18.2 ppg. and 7.6 rpg., while shooting 56.0 percent from the field. Spain is further assisted by Jorge Garbajosa, 12.2 ppg. and 4.6 rpg., and Jose Manuel Caldero, 9.6 ppg., Juan Carlos Navarro, 9.2 ppg., and Felipe Reyes, 8.4 ppg. and 5.2 rpg.

The USA men, who closed out preliminary play Monday with an 89-53 domination of Angola, are led by Tim Duncan's (San Antonio Spurs) double-double effort of 15.6 points and 11.0 rebounds a game. Also aiding the U.S. cause are Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers),13.8 ppg., Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat),.8.6 ppg., and Shawn Marion, (Phoenix Suns) 8.0 ppg. and 6.0 rpg.