By Clay Kallam
Publisher
"If we don't win," said Katrina McClain simply, "this whole year will be a complete waste."
"We're going to steal the gold medal," said Maria Paula Silva, "right in their own home."
With that setup, and NBC willing, one of the premier matchups in women's basketball history Sunday will be seen at 3:30 p.m. (Pacific time).
On one bench, there will be the upstart Brazilians, with a disdain for defense and a love for the flashy play. Yes, they are defending world champions, but they have never won an Olympic medal.
On the other sits the powerful United States, 59-0 in a year-long romp through the best in the world. The Americans have won the gold two of the five times women's basketball has been an Olympic sport, and also have a silver and a bronze. The only year they did not place was the year they did not go.
There is not much to choose between the two teams. In the backcourt, for example, the Americans have four-time Olympian Teresa Edwards and do-everything guard Ruth Bolton. The Brazilians counter with Hortencia and Maria Paula Silva, or "Magic Paula." Though Hortencia and Magic Paula may score higher in style points, Edwards and Bolton are the foundation of the United States' incredible 59-game win streak.
At center, the Americans have 6-5 Lisa Leslie, who had 22 points and 13 rebounds in the 93-71 semifinal win over Australia. The Brazilians answer with 6-4 Janeth Arcain, who made a last-second shot to get Brazil past Italy in pool play. She didn't do much against Ukraine, but the score in that semifinal was 81-60, and Arcain had no need to step up.
At forward, the United States runs out Katrina McClain, who was awesome again against Australia, and Sheryl Swoopes. McClain, one of the quickest leapers in the game, had 18 points on seven-of-nine shooting and hauled in 15 rebounds. Swoopes had her usual fine all-around game, finishing with 16 points, three assists, two steals and three rebounds. Marta De Sooza Sobral has had her moments for the Brazilians, and scored 13 against Ukraine while Alessandra Oliveira grabbed 13 rebounds. If the United States has an edge in the starters, it's here.
The Americans have another edge: the bench. Brazil only uses seven players, and guard Silvia Luz only played 10 minutes. That is even more of a factor when you realize that Hortencia is 36 and Paula 34, and that the United States has great depth, especially at guard. Dawn Staley, for example, stepped up against Australia, dishing out seven assists in just 13 minutes, and Jennifer Azzi had seven points in five minutes. And then there's Nikki McCray, a defensive demon who rebounds like a six-footer -- and McCray scores too, hitting four-of-five shots en route to 11 points against Australia.
Can Hortencia and Paula strut their stuff against waves of American guards? Can Sobral and Oliveira control McClain and Swoopes?
And there's always the luck factor. If either Leslie or Arcain get into foul problems, the advantage switches to the opposition. If Hortencia hurts her ankle again, the Brazilians are dead. If the Americans turn the ball over 27 times, as they did against Australia, they are dead. If either team gets hot from three-point distance, it could turn the tide. And international officiating is as consistent as a teen-ager's moods, and could, in a worst-case scenario, decide the game.
Their only common opponent so far has been Ukraine, but the United States played them early and rolled to a 98-65 win. The Americans had a 38-23 rebounding edge, while the Brazilians could only manage a 33-29 bulge in their 81-60 victory. But the Ukrainians were playing much better by the end of the Olympics, so maybe it wasn't the opposition that determined the difference in those numbers but rather the Ukrainians themselves.
Both teams have plenty of motivation, but eight players and U.S. Coach Tara VanDerveer rode home on the same bus with the Brazilians after Brazil had beaten the United States 110-107 the semifinals of the 1994 world championships. The Brazilians sang and celebrated, and all the Americans could do was watch -- and, in the not-so-elegant but very descriptive Chinese phrase, eat bitterness.
If the Brazilians win again, the bitterness will bite deeply in the Georgia Dome, but if the Americans win, there will be 30,000 fans there to share in the glory.
Brazil wants to steal the gold. The Americans want to make it 60 straight.
You couldn't ask for a better script and the stage is clearly set for one of the most dramatic women's basketball games ever played.
Let's just hope NBC lets us see it.