The Seoul Games: Day 5 : This Time, U.S. Has Last Laugh, 102-87

Recess is over. Disband the Conga line, put down those bongos and march it down the hall to the principal’s office right away, you boys from Brazil.

The United States is back in town.

Even if the Americans had to wait a year and go all the way to Asia, they got their revenge for that Pan American Games embarrassment in Indianapolis, blasting the Brazilians, 102-87, Wednesday in a battle of the Group B unbeatens of men’s basketball.

Some U.S. players pretended it meant nothing--”You guys built it all up,” Danny Manning suggested--but why fight it?

You want to know why the U.S. played so well?

Ghosts.

“We’ve been Oscar-ed to death,” Coach John Thompson said. “That had a whole lot to do with it.”

That’s Oscar as in Schmidt, the brilliant Brazilian O, who proved under the most adverse conditions that he’s a real big-time, NBA-caliber player.

Thompson had been pointing to this game from the time he selected his team, with an eye to guarding big foreign outside shooters, including ones named Oscar. He showed the squad a videotape of the Brazilian victory in the ’87 Pan-Am finals at Indianapolis, complete with footage of Schmidt on his back, kicking his feet in jubilation.

Thompson guarded Schmidt with four players (Dan Majerle, Willie Anderson, Mitch Richmond and Jeff Grayer). He had them follow him everywhere but to the doping control station, and Schmidt still went for his 31.

And these weren’t garbage points. When it was still a game--the U.S. did not go ahead to stay until 7:30 remained in the first half--he was a gamer.

In that first half, the U.S. kept him so far off the ball, Schmidt needed a radio to follow the action. In the first 8:48, he touched the ball four times, and one of those was an offensive rebound. He took only five shots from the floor in the half--and scored 16 points.

He also may have raised the concept of “matador defense”--waving and taunting, from a distance--to a new level, but it didn’t matter. The quartet he guarded, or monitored, shot a combined 12 for 27 (Grayer and Richmond, the prime rock-throwers, were 6 for 16), and he outscored them, 31-30.

Are you ready for this? Despite the fact that the U.S. was prepared and psyched and played well throughout, it actually had to wear the Brazilians down to take control of this game, so well did Brazil play, and so dramatically has the three-point goal shaved the American advantage in international competition.

Finally, in the last minutes of the first half, with the clever Brazilian point guard, Maury Souza, in foul trouble and all but out on his feet, the Americans set upon him and his less-able backup.

Souza had been left to bring the ball up alone while Schmidt and Maury’s brother, Marcel, were spotting up outside the three-point line. Maury fought off the U.S. starter, Little Charlie Smith, but succumbed to the second platoon, led by Vernell (Bimbo) Coles, a scorer-turned-defender-for-the-occasion from Virginia Tech.

The Brazilians tried to hang in. Down, 61-49, late in the half, they cut it to 61-55 and got the ball back for a final shot.

A 3-point try for Schmidt or Marcel?

Nope, a dunk for Stacey Augmon of UNLV and Pasadena John Muir, the squad’s youngest player. He stripped Maury Souza and took it in for the unopposed jam, making it 63-55.

Had Souza been tired?

“Me?” asked Souza later, laughing. “Much.”

In the first half?

“Yes.”

In the second half?

Souza mimicked a man collapsing.

Said his brother, Marcel, who plays Frank James to Oscar’s Jesse: “The United States plays intensively. After 20 minutes, it’s very dangerous to our team, when you play intensively like they did. They keep on playing intensively and then you just give up. You can’t go with them for 40 minutes.”

Then the U.S. is too deep for Brazil?

“USA?” said Marcel, laughing. “Supposed to be 12 good players in USA. Brazil, no.”

Are you getting the idea the Brazilians took their whipping graciously? They did, and hoped for a rematch, just the way you’re supposed to.

“That victory that we had in Indianapolis, nobody will take it away from us,” Marcel Souza said. “Because we did the best thing in the best country for basketball. And that’s a proud thing for a lifetime.”

For the Americans, this will have to do.

Try Willie Anderson, who played in that game and had nightmares for two months afterward.

“When you lose a game like that, in the Pan-Ams--I think that was the first one we ever lost--it’s going to haunt a player,” Anderson said.

“I just had to live with that. I would dream of Oscar pounding on the floor, celebrating.”

Sweet dreams, Willie Anderson. Schmidt is someone else’s problem from now on, or at least until the medal round.

Basketball Notes Latest update from the Danny Manning front: Did he tell NBC’s Jim Gray that he doesn’t intend to report to the Clippers? “I didn’t say I’d hold out,” Manning said Wednesday. “I said if things didn’t work out the way they’re supposed to be in contract negotiations, that’s going to take it’s toll. Then I’ll do what I have to do.” Translation: it looks like Manning and his agent, Ron Grinker, have gotten an offer from the Clippers, and think it’s too low.

Meanwhile, the U.S. basketball coaching staff is wondering who leaked the story that Manning was tired of the spartan regime and had thought about quitting. It suspects the story originated with Grinker. . . . The U.S. is 3-0 and leads Group B. Barring upsets, the U.S. is on track to play the Group A runner-up Soviet Union in the semifinals, and Group A leader Yugoslavia in the final. . . . Stacey Augmon left the stadium after the game on crutches, with an ice bag taped to his right ankle. His status is unknown. . . . J.R. Reid, listed here as Herman Reid, his real name, had one of his best games since about last December, shooting 7 for 11 and scoring 16 points with a game-high 8 rebounds in 29 minutes. He also got his second elbowing technical foul in two games. Dean Smith isn’t going to like that.