On August 16, 2008, the United States men's basketball team handily defeated the national basketball team of Spain by 37 points at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The United States defeated Spain 118-107 in the gold medal game on August 24, 2008. This marks the first Olympic gold medal for the U.S. men's team since 2000.
Spanish Team Racist Photo Scandal
The national basketball team of Spain is receiving unwanted publicity for a team photo which shows them using their fingers to slant their eyes.CNN.com: Spanish Olympics basketball team in 'racist' photo row The image has been seen as an insensitive parody of Chinese facial features. The photo was used as an advertisement for a courier company in Spain, and was featured in the Spanish newspaper Marca.Guardian.co.uk: Olympics Olympics:Spain's eye-catching faux pas
Spain Team Background Info
In 2006, Spain defeated Greece to become the FIBA world champions. The U.S. won the bronze medal that year.
The national basketball team of Spain is led by NBA star Pau Gasol. Charley Rosen from FOX Sports commented that "it's not unlikely that the upcoming USA-Spain contest will be a preview of the gold medal game."FOX Sports: USA looks golden ... but watch out for Spain
