ISTANBUL, Turkey -- It's not every day that bombs explode a
few miles away, a State Department official conducts a reassuring
security briefing and the shrieks and whistles of an angry crowd
all but pierce the eardrums.
Tuesday, however, was exactly that kind of a day for the U.S.
Olympic basketball team.
After awakening to news that bombs had exploded at a tourist
hotel and a fuel depot, killing two and injuring 11, the Americans
decided to play on.
By the time they finished an 80-68 victory over Turkey in front
of a crowd that turned hostile following injuries to two members of
the home team, the Americans' best player pronounced the team
"1,000 percent better" than it was less than three weeks ago when
it began training in a far-off land called Florida.
"I think we're right where we need to be going into the
Olympics," Tim Duncan said after shooting 12-for-14 for 25 points
in a game that stayed close until the early part of the fourth
quarter. "We understand each other a little better, and what we're
going to run into."
Fear of terrorism was one of the factors that kept many
superstars away and prevented the United States from fielding a
team of its best players. The reality of terror unfolded only a few
miles away from the luxury hotel where the Americans are bunking
down on the final stop of their pre-Olympic tour.
A previously unknown Kurdish group claimed responsibility for
pre-dawn bomb attacks on two hotels in tourist. An al-Qaida-linked
group also claimed responsibility in a statement posted on a Web
site, but Turkish authorities cast doubt on that claim.
"Us wanting to play this game was so that we could take our
minds off of anything that had happened," said LeBron James, the
youngest member of the roster and also the most quizzical when the
team sat down for a morning briefing with security officials and a
U.S. consular representative.
Players' family members who made the trip to Istanbul also
received a briefing.
"They gave us intelligence that gave us a certain comfort
level. The State Department official reiterated this was not
targeted at American or Western interests, and it was something
that is not atypical of what happens in Turkey," USA basketball
executive director Jim Tooley said.
No serious consideration was given to canceling or postponing
the game, Tooley said.
"We all were a little uneasy about it because most of the guys
had family here," U.S. coach Larry Brown said. "People here
handled it great. They made us feel pretty secure. We knew when the
schedule was made that there had been some incidents here, but
everybody wanted to come."
The Americans' final game was similar to others during their
up-and-down pre-Olympic tour. They were unable to dominate an
opponent that figured to be vastly overmatched, but they got the
job done in the end.
The play that turned the fans against them came when James
swiped at the ball and hit Turkey guard Ibrahim Kutluay in the eye.
Kutluay, who scored 26 points, lay writhing on the floor as a
stretcher was wheeled out. He walked off and eventually returned.
Another Turkish player went down moments later, and the whistles
and shrieks from the crowd reached blaring decibel levels.
"This is part of the game. I think it was the right answer from
the fans, and they'll see it in Greece, too," Turkey center Mehmet
Okur said. "It's much different in Europe. It's not like the
NBA."
Duncan also had 11 rebounds, Allen Iverson scored 13 and Richard
Jefferson added 11.
The team plans to remain in Istanbul for one more day before
flying to Athens on Thursday.
"I don't know that everybody is absolutely confident and secure
with everything, but they said everything would be fine, so you
have to keep going on," Duncan said.