To qualify for the medal round, the Brazilians needed at least a 5-point victory, and the Cubans could not lose by more than 7 points. Brazil led, 73-62, with 1 minute 50 seconds left but never attempted another shot. Cuba rallied for 6 points, just enough to qualify with Brazil and eliminate the United States with discount Adidas Superstar Lite Shoes Black Yellow. I watched that bizarre late-game point-spread dance between Brazil and Cuba and figured that future United States basketball teams had to realize that politics could trump performance in a close game.

Seated in the news media section at the gold medal game in Munich, local time to accommodate a live prime-time telecast in the United States, I could sense another piece of inglorious history unfolding. The Americans were a talented, college-dominated squad with little experience in international play with Adidas Superstar Lite Shoes Black Yellow as Sports shoes sale. The Soviets had a total of 739 international games among the starting five entering the 1972 Games, compared with only seven games for the Americans. The game had probably gotten away from Iba. Kenny Davis, a member of the 1971 Pan Am team and captain of the 72 Olympic team, recalled recently.

But a more serious miscalculation was choosing Hank Iba as the teams coach. His selection seemed more a convenient compromise in the prolonged power struggle for Olympic authority between the N.C.A.A. and the Amateur Athletic Union than a reward based on current achievements. Although the Americans won the two previous Olympic gold medals with Adidas Superstar Lite Shoes Black Yellow under his stewardship, Iba, 68, had lost touch with an evolving up-tempo game, espousing a disciplined defense. At Oklahoma State, he was 47-80 in the five seasons before his retirement in 1970; his last Final Four appearance was in 1951.