Winning the gold medal is the most
indescribable thing in the whole world.
I don't know how anybody can put into words
how they feel when somebody puts that gold medal
around their neck.
And you don't know whether to cry
or to jump up and down
because you've got all those emotions
just coming at you at the same time.
It's the greatest feeling in the world.
To win a gold medal in your own country
has got to be great
to have the fans just cheering for you
in America, in your own country.
This team has a chance to
really take it to another level
and we're in for a treat for the next two weeks.
Now look at the Georgia Dome,
downtown Atlanta, the primary site
for men's basketball
and better than 36,000 turning out
for opening night for the Dream Team,
the United States going against Argentina.
Hi everybody, Marv Albin along with Matt Goukis
and we're pleased to be joined by Urban Magic Johnson,
a member of the original Dream Team
in Barcelona back in 1992.
Now Magic, obviously the Dream Team
will be surging through the competition
here at the 96 Olympics,
but is there a sense of anxiety
before that very first game?
Well, Marv, they're excited, they're antsy,
they're ready to go.
They're tired of playing against one another,
they've been practicing against each other
and with each other for three weeks.
I know my first Olympics back in 1992,
I was so excited that normally I take naps
before the games.
I couldn't sleep, I was too excited,
I was too nervous, I wanted to get the game started
before I could get that gold medal.
So they're ready to play right now,
but look for them to maybe miss some shots
that they would normally make.
I have a feeling they'll straighten that out though
in quick order.
I think so.
And for Argentina, it's their first Olympics
since back in 1952,
but for Argentine basketball,
it has certainly been successful in recent years.
They've come a long way.
But guess what?
Argentina is in big trouble in the middle.
Now their best inside player is Marcelo Nicola,
a former draft choice of the Houston Rockets in 1993.
He wants to show some NBA scouts
that he can play in the league.
And every team has a three-point specialist.
Theirs is Juan Esfiel.
Hasn't missed a game in 12 seasons
for his Argentine club team
and led them in scoring at 32 a game.
But after 44 years of being absent from the Olympics,
Argentina is in for a rude awakening.
And Argentina's goal here in Atlanta
is to reach the quarterfinals.
At the very least,
they would like to be able to beat China and go.
Let's check out the starting lineups for the United States.
Lenny Wilkins going with the backcourt
of John Stockton and Reggie Miller.
He'll start David Robinson at center.
Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley are up front.
And they're looking at the Argentina starting five.
The key man is Marcelo Valencia,
the point guard, the captain and leader of the team
and generally regarded as the best player in Argentina.
Matt made mention of Juan Esfiel,
28-year-old six-foot-four backcourt man
who averaged 21 a game at the Tournament of Americas
can do it from three-point range.
Well, the newest member of the Los Angeles Lakers,
Shaquille O'Neal,
signed the huge contract the other day.
Now, Magic, when you're feeding him the ball
next January or February, does he like it up high?
Does he like it on the bounce?
Where do things stand now with you?
Most big men like it up high.
They don't want it down low
because that brings it down with the guard.
So, yeah, I'm going to feed it up high to him,
make him go get it.
Wait a moment.
Are we talking January, February?
Hopefully January.
That's the only time I can come back is January.
A lot of people are already ready to hand the trophy
over to Los Angeles Lakers.
Magic, you can be a little bit objective now until January,
a little bit.
What do the Lakers still need?
I think they need some shooting.
Oh, no question about it.
You know, you have to get a shooter in there.
You have to surround him with some guys
who can knock it down when they double team him.
And also remember that Seattle is not going to go away quietly.
Remember that Houston is not going to go anywhere.
I mean, San Antonio.
So it's some still quality, great teams in the West.
So don't concede anything to the Lakers.
And Shaquille moving a seat away from his former teammate,
Penny Hardaway.
Yes, he's going to have a heavy load on his shoulder this year.
But Penny adjusted well when Shaquille was out,
and I'm sure he will again.
All right, the officials, Gennaro Colucci of Italy
and from Greece, Stadios Koukoulisidis.
And that is Colucci throwing the ball up for the opening tip,
and it's controlled by Argentina.
Nicola's not able to hit on that first shot attempt.
Here's Pippen on a two-on-one with Swanton.
And Pippen with the save, but stepped out of bounds.
And right away we saw four blue shirts from Argentina
go right to the offensive board.
That could be death against the USA
with their ability to rebound the basketball,
get out and run.
Assella, and this is the center, Wolkowski.
Espio picked up by Pippen.
And here's the long shot taken by Espio.
He likes to to gun from downtown.
Reggie Miller trying to get it to David Robinson.
A shaky start here by the United States.
Espio giving Argentina a cute-upping lead.
Remember what we were talking about at the top of the show?
I was saying that they were probably nervous and excited,
so normally some plays they would make, they would miss.
So right now, look for that.
Swanton, and he's tied the game.
And two, under normal conditions,
the Argentines will shoot the ball,
but they, in this situation, will control it
if they're looking to make the offense last
at least 25 seconds to find the open shot.
Well, that's Coach Lenny Wilkins,
who has really preached to his team
how important it is to get out and play defense early
and create some tempo that way, get those easy baskets,
which makes those effort shots a little bit easier.
But Guillermo Vecchio, the coach of Argentina,
who wants them to control the tempo,
rely a lot on three-point shooting,
but he knows it's going to be very difficult against the USA.
Nice paint.
Kowalski, the six-foot, nine-and-a-half center,
has given Argentina a four-two lead.
A minute and 40 gone by.
Barkley, posting up, drawing the double-team.
Nice hit back, but a three-second violation is called.
You think there's anything to the fact
that Lenny Wilkins has started four players
who were on dream team one,
with Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley,
John Stockton, David Robinson, Reggie Miller
being the lone dream team two player.
And a ragged start for the United States
with three turnovers here in the opening minutes.
And the foul is called a hold on Miller.
Well, you have to understand something here.
They came out here, you know, expecting to win by 40, 50.
So they're probably not going to get off right away
to the start that they want,
but eventually everything's going to happen for them.
But, you know, Argentina is really,
hey, they have nothing to lose,
so they're going to play well early.
But let's put the dream team to get their stuff together.
And as field crew, the foul.
But I think that you can also look for,
Charles Barkley is the one player that they,
no team in the world can match up against.
And right now they're going, the dream team is going to him
trying to create shots and doubles.
Reggie Miller is called for the foul.
A second and early substitution,
Mitch Richmond of the Sacramento Kings
replacing Reggie Miller.
Argentina with a four-two lead.
A marvelous call on a steal.
Well, they really look to future one
at stealing their offense.
He runs that baseline.
They set a lot of screens for him to come off,
and he always seems to have that trigger ready.
He can get that shot up very, very quickly.
An excellent three-point shooter.
Richmond has stomped into the back court
with Pippen, Barkley, and Robinson,
and I don't know if that's what Scottie Pippen had in mind,
but he'll take that shot off glass to tie the game at four.
Actually, he likes to use the glass,
but a little bit further down, more of a 45-degree angle,
but certainly not on that shot.
Two-and-a-half gone by.
And a traveling violation is called.
I played in international ball a lot,
so the fans can look for a lot of traveling to be called,
because normally you get to move that feet in the NBA
and in America, but here you cannot do that.
And perhaps some of the NBA players will not receive
the same respect that they might in the NBA competition.
Exactly, and look for the referees, too.
That's why Reggie is out, because in international ball,
if you touch a man with your hand, that's a foul.
Normally in the NBA, it's not.
Game is tied at four, and there's a foul,
a handshake called on John Stockton.
Exactly what you were talking about, Magic,
and the NBA players has taken them a good two years now
to get used to getting that bent elbow out there.
You see John Stockton showing the referee what he did.
I don't think the referee cares that he had the elbow bent.
It's still a foul in international play.
Milan, SCO, being guarded by Stockton.
As field, going baseline against Richmond,
who had him well covered.
Wolkoviski.
Wolkoviski with the shot.
And Barkley with the box out.
Stockton running the floor.
Stockton got a trade.
And was rejected and fouled.
Let me say, this is a great game
that Archers is playing in terms of
they've taken the fans right out of it.
There's John Stockton spotting that open,
a little hesitation move, and I think one of the things
that makes John Stockton so good is those big hands.
Foul was called on Nicola.
We'll be back in a moment.
Our aerial photography being provided
by Goodyear Infinitred.
As you look at the Georgia Dome from high above
here in Atlanta, Argentina with a 12-10 lead.
On the United States, a three-pointer by Nicola.
A couple of buckets by Esfield.
David Robinson with two field goals.
International play continuing as we
broke four commercial.
And this is taking on the early look of what
the United States saw against the group of college all-stars,
the U.S. select team, that very first exhibition game
in which the United States was down by 17 at halftime.
Not quite the story here today, but still a surprise.
Well, that was the best thing that could have happened
for Coach Lenny Wilkins and the rest of his staff
and actually the players as well,
because then they realized that they could just not come out,
cool it, wait for the other team to just fade away.
They had to initiate with defense and pressure defense,
and that's what a guy like Gary Payton has given in.
And what an addition he has been to this team,
the last player picked in replacing Glenn Robinson
after Glenn Robinson was going to go play to that heel injury.
A lot of people thought it was going to be Sean Kemp,
but it turned out Gary Payton was a good choice.
And once he gets in the game, he can change the club,
and we've got Penny Hardaway coming in now.
Well, what happens is that Gary picks up people full-court,
and right here you can see where the defense by Argentina
and the layup here.
But what has happened is Argentina is throwing the game down.
They've taken the crowd out.
That's why it's been a great game so far for them,
because they haven't let the United States get into their running game,
and they've taken the crowd right out of the game.
Argentina is at 5 of 7 from the field.
The United States 4-5, but they've turned it over five times.
Richmond lost it.
Another turnover by the U.S.
Make it 6.
Now, Danielle Fettlebelle handling at the point guard,
wearing number 5.
This is Marcelo Nicola with the ball,
bringing David Robinson out.
Five-and-a-half gone by, and Espio was wide open,
but Hardaway over to get a piece of it.
Here's Richmond giving it up to Markley.
Argentina by one.
That was their first fast break.
Now here come the crowd.
Now they should pick their defense up.
And Markley is right in the chest of Osella.
Last touch by the United States.
I think after last week in Indianapolis against Greece,
the USA was ready to play.
They had to practice a few days in Orlando.
They lost their timing, lost their rhythm,
but this is how they can get it back.
Force tough shots, get some steals, deflection,
get out and run and get easy baskets,
and everything falls into place.
Navello played by Hardaway.
Marv Albert with Matt Dukas.
Magic Johnson.
It's the opener for the Green team,
and that is a shot clock violation.
The basketball count, it was flipped up
from near center court by Marcelo Nicola, and it went in.
Coach Vecchio wants to control the tempo,
use a lot of clock, but not quite that much.
No, but not that much.
Guillermo Vecchio, only 33 years old,
is the head coach of the men's national team
since back in 93.
Another turnover, sloppy play,
and Pippen is called for the foul.
Got the ball and a piece of Nicola.
Well, again, the Green team has not settled down.
I don't think they know who they want to go to offensively either.
It seems like they're just moving the ball,
looking for things to happen,
but it's not happening for them.
It seems like they're standing around for me,
looking for somebody else to do it
instead of setting picks, helping each other out.
Seven turnovers also contributing to the problems
in less than seven minutes here at the start.
Jorge Roca, important player for Argentina off the bench,
has just come on for the first time.
You're looking at Marcelo Nicola,
a member of the national team since back in 84,
a second-round draft pick of the Houston Rockets three years ago.
Then his draft rights traded to Portland in the deal
involving Clyde Bressler.
Argentina leading 15 to 12.
Robinson, off the spin, is blocked and fouled.
Well, there's that standing around you were talking about, Magic.
The ball finally got into David Robinson.
It took a long time to get there,
and then because of some anxiety,
Mitch Richmond made a cut before he should.
Charles brought his defender in there
and just clogged everything up for David Robinson,
who could really have his way with any of the big men on Argentina.
So Robinson shooting a couple.
Alberto called for the foul.
And Argentina now leads by the score of 15-14.
The high mark in Argentine basketball was back in 1950
in the World Championships in Buenos Aires.
They defeated the United States by 14 points in the final,
making their first electric appearance since 52 in Helsinki.
Scottie Pippen with the change of direction.
The whole crowd reacting to that because normally in American basketball, college and NBA,
that would be goal-tending international play.
Once it hits the rim, it's a fair game for anybody to take it off that rim.
That's another thing that our players in terms of United States football are not used to,
and as you can see that the Argentines use it to their liking.
Traveling violation, gives the ball back to the United States.
Another look at that shot by Scottie Pippen.
And goal-tending can be called an international play when the ball is on its downward arc over the cylinder,
but this was in a case where once the ball touches the rim, you can knock it off.
Watch out!
That's how things have gone for the United States here in the first half.
Maybe this is what they need to help you get going.
Argentina has shut the lights out.
12.35, remaining first half, and as Argentina by one will take a break.
Okay, welcome back to Studio One at the International Broadcast Center in Atlanta.
I am happy to report that the lights are back on at the Georgia Dome.
And while we were away, they began playing again, and the USA immediately went on a 15-5 run.
They assume a 29-20 lead, more than midway through the first half.
So on this, the night, the lights went out in Georgia.
Back to Marv Albert.
Alright Bob, a nine and a half delay, all told, due to the blackout.
And then the two teams received a three minute warm-up period.
The run by the United States turning things around, led by David Robinson as the high man,
with nine, Charles Barkley with seven points, and Juan S. Steele leading Argentina with eight points.
But a slow start and a surprising score.
Argentina able to hang around here in the first half.
For more on the blackout here at the Georgia Dome, let's check in with our sideline reporter, Cheryl Miller.
Thanks a lot, Marv. Well, engineers are still myth on what caused the lights to go out.
Currently, they're running on a backup generator that is sufficiently giving a lot of light.
They said they're going to give me more details as the information comes in.
Obviously, the one coach who is very upset about this recent delay has to be Coach Vecchio.
He told his players to keep, to go out, continue to play their game, try to work the clock, and be selfish with the ball.
All right, guys. All right, Cheryl, and as these two teams broke for the timeout,
Marcelo Ilanesio was called for a technical foul. Apparently, he had a bit too much to say.
Yes, he complained because the time before he went down and thought he had made contact on a three-point shot,
which the referee had called no foul on.
And what has happened here when the lights went out, you know what was going to affect one team or the other.
And the United States used the lights going out to kick themselves into gear, and it seemed like it hurt the Argentina team.
Why the slow start for the United States? You mentioned the anxiety, perhaps some nervousness,
although it appears obvious that the U.S. is so superior to Argentina.
But why the listless start?
Well, I think that Matt and I were talking about they were standing around a lot,
and then they didn't create any offense from their defense.
And now, when Penny Hardaway came in, it seemed like they picked up a defense,
and they started getting a lot of points off of each other.
And the U.S. going to the pressure defense right now.
Foul on Karl Malone. I don't know, was it a coincidence when Arnold Schwarzenegger showed up,
the lights kind of dimmed, the blackout took effect.
I thought it was your turn to pay the electric bill, Mark.
I did not want to get into that.
Well, he wanted to make a grand entrance.
How's that? And the Terminator, he just cut up all the lights.
Ruben Wilkins-Biskey on the free throw line.
Penny Wilkins now has Shaquille O'Neal up front, along with Karl Malone,
and Rand Hill playing Hardaway with Mitch Richmond in the back door.
It's clear that the identity of this particular U.S.A. team has been their defense.
Ever since that first half against the select college kids,
they realized that they had to do things with pressure defense, and they believe in that.
Magic, what was the identity of your team in 92 in Barcelona?
Well, we beat them the same way, because Michael and Scotty,
they were all over the cars, and we denied.
And then we just let our big men, if they got passes, just block the shot, and we got out on the break.
And here's the break by Argentina.
And a nice setup for Espio.
Juan Espio from downtown.
He led the Argentine league in scoring this past season, averaging 32 a game.
Signed to play in Spain next season.
He's hit his second three-pointer. He has 11.
And the United States now leads by seven.
Well, Magic, you mentioned how things turned around for the U.S.A. with Penny Hardaway playing Degas,
when this man, Juan Espio, left the game.
Then the Argentine team really didn't know who to look for.
They didn't know who to find for a shot, because it seems when he is on the floor,
that's the man they set all the screens for and set all the offense for.
And when he sits, nothing happens.
Foul by Villar, putting Malone at the line.
Carl Malone, flying time.
NBA All-Star able to hit on one or two.
Eight-point lead for the U.S. Shaquille O'Neal, able to keep it alive.
Well, Shaq's been used to those passes for the last three years.
He's going to have to find somebody else who can make that type of pass.
What are you laughing at?
Well.
And this called a weight from the ball.
Mitch Richmond called for the holding foul.
Penny Hardaway just has such a sense, just tapping the ball to himself,
knowing where the big fella is and not even really having to grab that ball.
There are some players in the history of the game who have had that knack
of Bob Cousy in the old days, obviously Magic Johnson, Larry Bird,
who just have that little extra sense a step ahead everybody else.
Penny Hardaway has it as well.
He made it off of a missed free throw, which was a good play.
But this team has played well ever since Hardaway has come into the game.
He's done it on controlling the offense as well as on defense as well.
And a lot of spiel with 13 points, United States 34 and Argentina 26.
A spiel defending against Richmond.
Alone to the fadeaway.
A play by Wolkoviski to keep it away from O'Neal.
On SEO, controlling the temple at the point guard position.
Oh, the script by Hill took it away from Nikola.
Hill leading below.
And the United States leads by 10.
That's what we were talking about, their defense have to create their offense
to get this crowd back into the game and get themselves going.
And there's somebody waiting to check in, Gary Payton,
who can even get the defense going that much more.
Nikola not able to hit and it's O'Neal ahead of the field.
And he looks to get the crowd going, better than 36,000 here at the Georgia Dome.
And they now have seen the United States extend to a 12-point advantage,
5-20 remaining in the first half.
The U.S. got off to the slow start.
Put down by Wolkoviski.
A terrific back pick set on Shaquille O'Neal who really got hung out to dry.
And Grant Hill had his head down, never stepped out and bumped the shack.
A little bit embarrassed on that play.
He's usually more aware on that back side.
That pass broke it up.
Wolkoviski with the steal.
Shaquille able to get it back.
Wolkoviski on the rebound and he threw the foul.
Well, you want to know why they call them the Dream Team.
This player just lets you know.
Here's Grant Hill out coming.
Karl Malone trailing.
Nice layup.
And a terrific back pick set by Juana Spiel as Grant Hill had his head down
and a great pass to I think it was Wolkoviski, a nice one from Melanesio,
right on the mark.
Foul was called on Karl Malone with 4.52 remaining.
In this first half it's now the United States 38 and Argentina 28.
Let's go to Bob Costas back at the broadcast center.
Okay, Marv, thanks a lot.
And we'll be checking back on this game periodically throughout the night.
And if it gets very close again, then we'll stick with it.
This is the approach we're going to take throughout the games.
We can't kid anybody.
You all know this.
It is likely that the Dream Team will not be threatened in any of these games,
that they will go right through to the gold.
And we will give you a look at a good chunk of each game they play.
But we won't show any game with the possible exception of the gold medal game
in its entirety because we want to show you as much of the tapestry
of the Olympic Games as we can.
So we hope you understand that decision.
We'll use our best judgment.
We'll check back from time to time.
After this break, gymnastics, the final men's session of the day and evening,
including the Chinese team, a contender for the gold medal.
We'll return to Atlanta in a minute.