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Dominican Republic No Problem As USA Senior Men Roll To 111-73 Win At FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament

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First the USA Olympic Qualifying Team (2-0) safely tucked away its eventual 111-73 victory against the Dominican Republic (1-1), then they put on a show for the capacity crowd at Roberto Clemente Coliseum Thursday night in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The win improved the United States to 2-0 in the tournament and extended its win streak to 18 in FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying games dating back to 1992. The USA continues preliminary play Friday against Venezuela in a 10 p.m. (EDT) game.

The statistics tell the story of the USA’s total dominance. Making 46-of-71 shots for a 65.8 shooting touch, the Americans made 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) 3-pointers. The U.S. was credited with 39 assists on its 46 made field goals, and it owned the glass with a 40-24 rebounding advantage.

“We had 39 assists on 46 field goals. I think that's exactly how we want to play. It shows that we are trying to share the ball and play like a team,” stated American coach Larry Brown. “I just thought we played great. It is fun for me to watch the ball change sides (swinging the ball around on offense) and guys who have seven, eight or ten-footers, giving it up to a guy who might have a better shot. That's great basketball.” The USA runaway victory started slowly as the Dominican Republic slipped out ahead early in the first quarter and led 25-20 with 2:16 remaining in the quarter. Dominating both ends of the court, the USA put on a defensive and offensive show that resulted in an 18-0 run that left the USA in command 38-25 midway through the second quarter.

Outscoring the Dominicans 9-0 to finish the first period, the American’s led 29-25. Jermaine O’Neal (Indiana Pacers) punished the Dominicans inside, scoring 10 points in the first 10 minutes with 8 of those points coming off of four offensive rebounds.

Shooting a sizzling 65.0 percent in the second quarter alone, the USA out-produced the Dominican Republic 31-9 in the second stanza, and scored the first nine points of the second quarter.

Ray Allen (Seattle SuperSonics) and Vince Carter (Toronto Raptors) provided the offensive punch, as Allen scored 7 points in the second quarter’s first 4:43, and Carter had 12 points, six off dunks and six on a pair of 3-pointers, in a span of 2:54 midway through the period. Tracy McGrady (Orlando Magic) finished off the quarter by scoring six of the USA’s last eight points and the Americans retired to the locker room owning a 60-36 advantage.

Shooting 24-of-38 in the first half (63.2 percent), including 5-of-9 from 3-point, the USA also had 23 rebounds, 18 assists, and blocked six shots at the defensive end.

By the end of the third quarter, the USA offensive output had hit 88 and its lead stood at 34, 88-54. The U.S. rumbled on in the fourth and posted the final 111-73 win.

All 12 USA players scored, and the offensive barrage was headed by McGrady with 17 points, while Carter added 15, O’Neal finished with 14 and a game best seven boards, Kenyon Martin (New Jersey Nets) was credited with 13 points and Allen ended the contest with 12 points and seven assists. 2000 Olympic gold medalist Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets) scored four points and dished off for 10 assists.

In Thursday’s other games, Argentina (1-1) routed Uruguay (0-2) 91-60, Brazil (1-1) chalked up its first win as it recorded a 100-74 win over the Virgin Islands (0-1), and Canada (1-0) finished strong to knock off host host Puerto Rico (1-1) 89-79.

Preliminary round action continues Friday and sees Mexico squaring off against Uruguay, Argentina battles Canada, the Virgin Islands faces the Dominican Republic.

Ten men's national teams from North, South and Central America are competing in the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the top three finishers will qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games.

First Round play takes place Aug. 20-24, then the top four finishing teams from each of the two preliminary round groups will advance to the second ground where they form one group. The second round games are scheduled for Aug. 25-28, each team will play the other four teams they have not previously played. The top four finishers based on overall records will then advance to the Saturday, Aug. 30 semifinals, and the winners of the semifinals games will meet on Sunday, Aug. 31 in the gold medal game, while the losers of Saturday’s semifinals showdowns will square off in the bronze medal game.

USA Basketball has had to qualify for the Olympics through a zone qualifying tournament twice before, 1992 in Portland, Oregon, and 1999 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Americans in 1992 rolled to a 6-0 record, won the gold medal and earned a qualifying berth in the ‘92 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona. In 1999, under the direction of Brown, the American squad won 10 games in 11 days to finish 10-0 and in possession of the gold, while earning one of the two Americas Olympic qualifying berths.