U.S. can clinch Olympic berth

LAS VEGAS -- After plowing through all eight of its games in the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament on cruise control to reach the semifinals, the U.S. will take the court at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center this afternoon with a chance to lock up a berth in the 2008 Games.

Who could have doubted the inevitable?

Opposing the U.S. team this afternoon will be Puerto Rico.

Who could have envisioned the improbable?

While the star-studded U.S. team kicked off this men’s basketball tournament in high gear and never looked back, the star-crossed Puerto Ricans stumbled into Las Vegas, burdened by a last-minute departure and nearly faded in the first round.

Coach Manuel Cintron claims he was blindsided by the retirement of center Daniel Santiago on the eve of the tournament. The move was made even less palatable because Cintron learned of the exit of Santiago, who had been a member of the team for 11 years, by reading it in a newspaper.

“I’ve decided to focus on other points in my professional career in basketball,” wrote Santiago in a letter published in El Nuevo Dia. “I wish the best to the team and thank them for all the opportunities I’ve been given to play on the national team. I’m proud and I’m blessed for having represented Puerto Rico.”

Responded Cintron: “I’m sad because he abandons a lot of mates who went with him to war several times.”

Then came Puerto Rico’s tournament opener against Mexico. Not only did Puerto Rico lose 100-89, but Jose Juan Barea, one of only two NBA players on the team, was suspended for two games for excessively arguing with a referee.

With the Dallas Mavericks reserve sitting out, the Puerto Ricans split their next two games, then lost again to finish the first round 1-3. In the next round, however, Puerto Rico came back to beat Brazil, Venezuela and Canada, losing only to the U.S., but securing the semifinal berth. And, insists Carlos Arroyo, a member of the Orlando Magic, Puerto Rico is not finished yet, despite losing to the U.S., 117-78, earlier in this tournament.

“We still have a game to play,” he said. “It’s been proven before that anything is possible. We are all on the same page and we believe in Puerto Rico. I think that, if we go into the game thinking that we have already lost, we will lose. . . . We have to believe that we can win that game. We know we will be playing against a very talented home team, but we will play hard.”

That much seems assured considering their first meeting. Kobe Bryant, playing rough, body-banging defense throughout this tournament, picked up three fouls and exchanged words with several members of Puerto Rico’s team.

That drew praise from U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“We love Kobe’s intensity,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s a big part of who we are.”

And it figures to be a big part of today’s game.

While a Puerto Rican victory today would be considered a miracle on hardwood, the U.S. team has been known to stage other memorable collapses. Last year the U.S. reached the semifinals of the FIBA world championship in Japan, only to be upset by Greece, 101-95. Three years ago at the Athens Olympics, the U.S. suffered its worst defeat on the international level, a 19-point drubbing, 92-73.

The team that administered that beating?

Puerto Rico.

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steve.springer@latimes.com