Spain put on a show against the USA Redemption Team compared to the first game in the preliminaries. Spain Men played youthful, fun and great against the USA. The game was a complete 360 turnaround compared to the first meeting where the USA won by 40 points. Many people think that this Spain team is one of the best ever with great talent. Pau Gasol lead the way and top players such as Rudy Fernandez, Ricky Rubio and Carlos Juan Narvarro showed up in great form to compete on the biggest stage in basketball. The OLYMPICS!
The final Olympic Basketball Game USA vs Spain on August 24 2008 is said to have been the best in Olympic History!
Spain Mens Basketball National Team has moved up in the World FIBA Rankings at number 3! Due to their great performance at the Olympics only losing to the USA National Mens team in their only two losses.
On the other hand, the Womens Spain National Basketball Team also moved up in Rankings after their participation in the Olympics to 5th Position in the Fiba World Rankings!
With the marks of top Spanish National teams and figures such as Rafael Nadal who just won the Wimbledon after a 44 year drought for Spanish Players and the Spanish Soccer team who also won the Euro2008 after not winning in the 40s. The national teams for Spain both women and men are hoping to follow in those footsteps in Pekin during the Olympic Summer Basketball Games!