Reign of Spain begins

SAITAMA, Japan -- C'mon, admit it. Everyone likes an athletic story with a Win-One-For-The-Gipper ending every now and then.

Don't know if the Spanish ever have heard of George Gipp (Ronald Reagan would probably be a yes), but whoever their ``Gipper" figure is, I'm sure his name is being evoked in their country today after the national basketball team brought home the gold medal with an authoritative conquest of Greece, with its best player serving as a 7-foot cheerleader in the championship game.

NBA All-Star Pau Gasol is more than merely Spain's best player. Before sustaining a stress fracture in his left foot late in the semifinal game with Argentina, Gasol had been so dominant in the first seven games of the World Basketball Championship that he was named its MVP. But a 70-47 trouncing of reigning European champion Greece (fresh from a triumph over the United States) indicates there are a few other good players on the Spanish team that aren't named ``Gasol."

``If you need only one player to win the game, maybe you have no team," pointed out Spain coach Pepu Hernandez, whose team did what the Americans couldn't do; namely, render the Greek offense impotent.

Guard Juan Carlos Navarro (20 points) and forward Jorge Garbajosa (20, including six threes) were the offensive standouts, but the real story of this game was the suffocating defense the Spaniards laid on a Greek team whose offensive efficiency had so embarrassed the Americans. Switching defenses masterfully, and playing tremendously hard, Spain got into the Greek heads so badly that before long no Greek could make an open shot. Houston Rocket-bound Vasilis Spanoulis, for example, was 1 for 10 after scoring 22 on 6-for-10 shooting against Team USA.

As badly as Mike Krzyzewski's team must have felt after losing in the semifinals to Greece, imagine how much worse it feels now that the same Greek team that torched them for 101 points was held to that miserly total of 47 by Spain two nights later.

Against the Americans, Greece shot 63 percent overall, 71 percent on 2s. Against the Spaniards, Greece shot 33 percent overall and 38 percent on 2s. Against the Americans, Greece made its first 10 shots of the third quarter. Against the Spaniards, Greece made a total of 13 shots in the first three quarters.

With defense like that, it was almost a case of ``Pau Who?"

``It was pretty amazing watching my teammates," said Gasol. ``They played with their hearts, and they played as one. When we beat Argentina, it was a mixture of pain and happiness. Today, it was just happiness. It was great to see the way they responded. It was a special day for me, my teammates, and my country."

Gasol was happiest of all for one particular teammate. Picking up some of his missing minutes was none other than his younger brother, Marc, an oft-maligned 7-footer who has taken a lot of flak at home and in America (he went to high school for a year in Memphis) for his alleged failings. He also has had injury problems, and it was a big deal for him just to make this team.

Well, Gasol The Younger answered the bell for his team, his country, and his big brother, playing 17 solid minutes while grabbing seven rebounds.

``I'm happily surprised the way my brother approached this opportunity," said Gasol. ``He played hard. I'm happy for him because he helped us win. He is a big part of this gold medal."

Spain was inspired, sure. But what happened to the Greek juggernaut that had so impressed the basketball world against the US?

``We did not have our concentration or our patience," suggested Greek coach Panagiotis Yannakis. ``When the Spanish team got the lead, we tried to do things too fast. To me, that was the problem."

Everything was fine for the first five minutes. There were three lead swaps through 9-8, Greece. Everything looked normal.

Then Spanish guards Jose Calderon and Navarro connected for back-to-back threes to propel Spain into an 18-12 one-period lead. Hardly a crisis.

What no one knew was that those treys were the trigger for a 20-3 run that would eliminate the competition for the evening and allow Spanish fans watching on morning television to uncork the champagne in time for a very pleasant lunch. When it got to 35-16 it was, in fact, over. The befuddled Greeks were never closer than 15 again.

Hernandez could not be prodded into any strategic analysis. Asked about his defensive strategy or goals, he chose to wax philosophic, as Europeans so often do. ``The most important thing is to bring back the style you want to put on the court," he said. ``I feel our players wanted to win the game, and they helped each other. The technical things are not important. Basketball is a game of passion, emotion, and feelings for your team."

Of course, he's got some players. Gasol is a certified NBA All-Star. Calderon plays for the Raptors, and he will be joined this season by Garbajosa, a 6-9 forward with smarts and a killer touch from the outside. Navarro is a major star with Winterthur F.C. Barcelona and is said to be headed for the NBA as soon as he can extricate himself from his costly contract. And there are plenty of solid role players.

Meanwhile, what a bizarre 48 hours or so for Greece. They beat the US by playing a phenomenal offensive game in which they looked as if they had invented the sport and then could not even break 50 against Spain.

``I think it was a very difficult game for us," said Greek guard Theodoros Papaloukas, who had shredded the US with 12 assists. ``Spain was better mentally prepared. But if someone would have told us three months ago Greece would win the silver, everyone in Greece would be happy."

And if someone had told the Spaniards they'd beat Greece by 23 with The Franchise on crutches, everyone in Spain would have said he was loco. This, amigos is why we must always play the game.

Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is ryan@globe.com.