Give 'em gold star, but...

LAS VEGAS - The United States easily put away the crypto-Argentines yesterday to win the coveted gold medal at the 2007 Tournament of the Americas. Actually, what was more coveted, a spot in the 2008 Olympics, was secured the day before by both the Yanks and the Argentines. It was hard for anyone to get psyched for yesterday's meaningless finale, a 118-81 blowout by the Americans.

Yesterday's win improved the United States's record in zone qualifiers to a heady 36-0. There's a pretty good reason for that. The 36 wins have come with NBA-stocked rosters for Uncle Sam and with "There's A Country For Everybody" rosters for the other teams. The only exception was four years ago, when Argentina, a year removed from being the first country to beat a USA team with NBA players (2002 World Championships), sent what turned out to be its Olympic gold medal team to San Juan in the '03 Olympic qualifier and lost, 94-86. Of the 36 wins by the Americans, that's the only one by 10 points or fewer.

The US team here, which pummeled opponents by a margin of nearly 40 points a game, is pretty much the same one you'll see next summer in Beijing. The most likely additions will be Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, so Mike Miller and Tyson Chandler can feel free to make plans for next August. A third possibility is Carlos Boozer, a holdover from the unfortunate souls of Athens (which also included Wade, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and Amare Stoudemire).

In other words, the United States sent what Tiger Woods might call its A team. FIBA, the international governing body for basketball, ranks the Yanks as the No. 1 team in the world, even though they haven't won a major international tournament since the Sydney Olympics seven years ago. Since then, there have been two third-place finishes (Athens and the 2006 Worlds) and the eye-opening sixth-place finish at the 2002 Worlds in Indianapolis.

No other team here was among the top 12 and only one other, Puerto Rico, ranked 13th, was among the top 15. (It should be noted Argentina is ranked No. 2, but its team here was not the one you'll see in Beijing, missing Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Walter Herrmann, and Fabricio Oberto.) Puerto Rico played without center Daniel Santiago, a late scratch. Canada, ranked 16th, did not have Jamaal Magloire (and by what was said, it doesn't look like it wants him, either). Brazil, ranked 17th, had all its players, but apparently none of them got along with the coach, judging by what the Brazilian media wrote.

Now, consider the tussle that gets under way today in Spain - the European Zone qualifier for the same number of spots in Beijing (two). This tournament will feature seven of the top 10 teams in FIBA's world rankings - and simple math tells us that at least one won't even get to China. (But Iran, ranked 32d, is going.) No. 3 Spain already has qualified for 2008 by virtue of its win in the 2006 World Championships. Two others will get qualifying bids out of that tournament and it would surprise no one if European teams took the three additional spots up for grabs in next summer's final Olympic qualifier.

So the lack of real competition here is something to bear in mind going forward. The 2003 US qualifying team, for instance, won its games by an average of almost 30 points. Had that team gone on to Athens with the likes of Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Ray Allen, and Jermaine O'Neal, who knows what would have happened. But it didn't have those players and we all saw the results - a confused, chaotic team, a sniping head coach, and three defeats.

The team that wreaked havoc this past week on its fellow zone dwellers will be back again next summer, pretty much in full flower. But the competition, stakes, and intensity will be dramatically higher. There is a limited field of 12. There really is only one cream puff - Iran. Qualifiers Angola (14) and Australia (9) are rated higher by FIBA than any of the teams here, save for the Yanks, the Real Argentina, and Puerto Rico.

Aside from presenting daily opportunities to administer drubbings to overmatched opponents, what this tournament did for the United States was give the players and coaches a chance to practice and get accustomed to one another. Had the US won the Worlds last summer, there would have been no opportunity like that this summer. The Yanks more than lived up to their No. 1 ranking here. But the gold medal they received yesterday isn't the one they really want. That one will come a lot harder - and, if secured, mean a whole lot more.

Peter May can be reached at p_may@globe.com.