Exhibition Game: Spain vs USA

[Gurkan Alkan]

Reigning World and European champions Spain will get a close look at Olympic gold medallists USA ahead of the World Championship when they face them in a friendly at La Caja Magica in the Spanish capital on 22nd August.

Spanish news agency Europa Press confirmed the date for the rematch of the Beijing Olympics final.

It will serve as a way for both teams to wrap up their preparations before setting off for Turkey where the World Championship begins six days later.

The choice of venue for this showdown is an interesting one as La Caja Mágica usually plays host to tennis tournaments.

In 2009, it became the home of the Madrid Open, a clay court event on both the men's and women's professional tours.

Defending world champions Spain were drawn in Group D of the First Round in Izmir and will face France, New Zealand, Lithuania, Lebanon and Canada in that order.

The USA, meanwhile, will play in Istanbul where their Group B opponents are Croatia, Slovenia, Brazil, Iran and Tunisia.

FIBA

[TalkBasket]

It will be interesting to see what Spain can do against USA in front of their own fans. Will the referees be Spanish too? American players could get really pissed off This obviously be the biggest friendly game of the summer but will it meet the expectations?

[Gurkan Alkan]

It will be interesting to see what Spain can do against USA in front of their own fans. Will the referees be Spanish too? American players could get really pissed off This obviously be the biggest friendly game of the summer but will it meet the expectations?

I don't read any news about referees. But Spain wants to take revenge from USA (118-107).

[Federoy]

It will be interesting to see what Spain can do against USA in front of their own fans. Will the referees be Spanish too? American players could get really pissed off This obviously be the biggest friendly game of the summer but will it meet the expectations?

I'd be surprised if the US federation accepted Spanish referees in this situation. That would disproportionately tilt the homecourt advantage in favor of the Spanish. I'm sure FIBA wants this high profile exhibition to be as controversy-free as possible, so certainly they'll make arrangements for non-Spanish refs to officate the game.

This article was also posted on IBN, and I responded by saying that although this will be a good test for both teams, I would rather see these two skip the friendly and meet-up in the WC, preferable in the gold medal game. By playing this exhibition, I think it takes away from some of the build-up and anticipation of a US/Spain official rematch. Notwithstanding, I expect it to be a great game with a lively crowd.

Both teams will get a chance to size each other up, but I don't anticipate either team revealing too much. Spain, and other European teams, have a tendency to withhold set plays or starting line-ups so as to not give away too much strategy. The US will no doubt be tinkering with its rotations and defensive sets, so team chemistry during this exhibition may not necessarily reflect the final product once the WC arrive. It's hard to say if a victory by either team will mean anything except for good feelings by Spanish fans who want revenge or for US fans who want to continue US dominance over Spain.

[suricata]

i don't believe such an exhibition game takes anything away from the build-up. and yes, neutral refs would be better

[ZEUS]

Sounds to me that USA won't be USA if LeBron does actually not play for team USA. As much as team USA are a bunch of arrogant pricks, they are about being equaled by the Spanish these past years with their dirty play, extreme/obscene ref favouritism, organizing a whole Eurobasket (in Spain) in favour of the Spanish NT (to be kept as rested as possible in respect to all other teams competing) to win the gold, etc.

Still, there will be a high entertainment factor watching the game, I don't see why this friendly shouldn't take place.

[Miggity23]

Sounds to me that USA won't be USA if LeBron does actually not play for team USA. As much as team USA are a bunch of arrogant pricks, they are about being equaled by the Spanish these past years with their dirty play, extreme/obscene ref favouritism, organizing a whole Eurobasket (in Spain) in favour of the Spanish NT (to be kept as rested as possible in respect to all other teams competing) to win the gold, etc.

Still, there will be a high entertainment factor watching the game, I don't see why this friendly shouldn't take place.

A: LeBron isn't our best player, especially not when it comes to the international style and it's rule differences.

B: This Team USA isn't a bunch of pricks. In fact guys like Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay and Stephen Curry are well known for their humble nature and being overall nice guys. I do understand the negative reputation our NBA players earned by their lack of class and respect for international competition, but the embarrassments of '02 and '04(a bronze medal is an embarrassment in America) have completely changed the culture of USA basketball and thanfully so.

Now, I completely agree with your comments about Spain though. The officiating was terrible on Sunday, but the Americans over came it and the hostile crowd to pull out a win in "The Magic Box". While I freely admit the Spanish NT can ball, I understand your point completely.

[ZEUS]

^ It's because of things like this that I've lost my respect for the Spanish. After the recent scrimmage fracas between Hellas-Serbia, Spain was pressuring FIBA to get players from both sides banned from the WC tournament. That's pathetic from Spain's side who tried to do whatever they could to weaken two countries who are medal contenders.