THE SEOUL GAMES / DAY 12 : Big East Beats U.S. in Encore : This Time, Soviet Win Is Clear-Cut, 82-76

The unthinkable isn’t unthinkable any more. Napoleon had Waterloo and Custer the Little Big Horn, and U.S. basketball?

It’ll always have Seoul.

The Soviet men’s team beat the United States in another Olympic Games Wednesday, but this time it was fair, square and above reproach--the American way, as an American might say.

And as the Soviet coach concurred.

“United States, this is fantastic basketball,” said Alexander Gomelsky after the Soviet Union’s 82-76 victory.

“United States, not problem choose national team. United States, children, dribble, shoot after start talking.

“Every year my boys have nice competition, play college teams. Many years ago, this is problem. Black players, very quick, very jump. But much practice, many competitions . . . Today, Russia-United States in basketball, this is normal.

“I play Milwaukee Bucks. I know Coach (John) Thompson critic for this game. I know Coach Thompson no like it my boys play Atlanta Hawks.”

Does he care?

“Mr Thompson is great coach,” said Gomelsky smiling, “but he is not foreign minister.

“My opinion, U.S.-Soviet, good contact, politic, economic, sport. All people, all countries are happy for this friendship. All people sleep, no problem.”

Thus has glasnost come to the Soviet basketball program.

This wasn’t what the Americans were looking for. This was supposed to be the day they got their long-awaited revenge for Munich in 1972 and their lone, bitterly disputed Olympic loss, when the Soviets were allowed to put the ball into play 3 times in the last 3 seconds.

Now it’s two Olympic losses.

Whatever happened to American omnipotence?

In international competition, it’s gone the way of the 3-point shot. The Americans still can’t shoot it--U.S. shooters typically don’t get great from the outside until their mid-20s, which is how old most of the European players are--and it’s sort of hard to defend against, too.

The Soviets, who had often looked awful here, played great, and the Americans seemed once again to feel the weight of that 85-1 record pressing on them.

“Certainly, we’re aware of the competitive relationship we have with them,” said Thompson, “and that’s going to bring about a certain amount of tightness that won’t create the fluidness you want early in the ball game.”

Translation: Lump-in-the-throat city.

The Americans were missing their one bona fide long-range shooter, Hersey Hawkins, who is out with a knee injury. If the U.S. team was known to have one problem, it was finding the one great scorer--the ’60 team had Jerry West, the ’84 team had Michael Jordan--it could go to if it ever got behind.

Bingo, it got behind Wednesday.

What went wrong?

The Americans’ quicker defense was supposed to pressure the slower Soviets but, surprise, it couldn’t. Arizona’s Lute Olson had predicted that the Soviets would be able to get the ball upcourt, but he expected they’d wind up having to play keepaway more than basketball.

“United States pressure very good,” Gomelsky said, “but United States coach and team, my opinion, doesn’t know Sabonis and one little guy.

“Sabonis good screen. Sabonis and (point guard Tiit) Sokk, possible to keep ball.

“This tactic--counter-pressure against United States--give us good chance.”

So the Soviets got the ball up, and moved it around, and spaced themselves out to spread the floor, and made their shots. Nobody believed they could do it that well in the face of such quickness, but they did.

The Americans led for the last time, 2:08 into the game, at 4-3.

Looking for a U.S. hero? The natural man to take over was Danny Manning, but he got in early foul trouble, sat out 17:46 of the first half and came back in throwing bricks.

Dan Majerle tried to step up. He’s a tiger but as a jump shooter he’s hot and cold. He has a little problem with shot selection, too, and his attempts got wilder as the game progressed and the Soviets refused to wilt.

Wily veterans of international ball that they are, the Soviets stayed cool. They stood off a couple of U.S. runs and led, 47-37, at halftime.

The Soviets even survived Gomelsky, who let the brilliant Sharunas Marchulenis pick up 4 fouls in the first half, and Arvydas Sabonis get 3. If an American college coach left his star in past his second foul in the first half, the alumni would start listing his home for him, but Gomelsky--the fox or the idiot?--just watched them go.

You think that was something? Against Yugoslavia, he let his top forward, Alex Volkov, foul out in the first half.

With their 1-2 punch so compromised, the Soviets seemed doomed, no matter how big their lead.

Sure enough, the Americans rallied.

Led by rough, tough J.R. Reid, Mr. International Incident of the U.S. team--he deliberately blasted Sabonis onto his backside in the first half--they cut the 51-37 lead to 55-53 midway through the second half.

It was 60-57 when Bimbo Coles lost the ball, and Marchulenis hit two free throws at the other end.

The game got big-time, NBA-playoffs rough. Sabonis and Volkov missed at the Soviet end, Big Charlie Smith and David Robinson at the U.S. end.

Then Volkov hit a driving layup, was fouled and made the free throw. It was 65-58, and the U.S. would never be closer than 3 again.

The game ended with Rimas Kurtinaitis, the 3-point killer, shooting an unopposed layup.

The Soviet players hugged each other ecstatically.

Willie Anderson picked up the ball, looked blankly at the Soviet hoop and flipped a shot off at it. This is the same Willie Anderson who said he had nightmares for 2 months after the United States lost to Brazil in the 1987 Pan American Games.

Assistant Coach George Raveling shook a Soviet hand or two on his way off the court, as did Thompson.

No U.S. player congratulated a Soviet player.

And guess who gets to try to explain the heretofore unexplainable to a shocked U.S. public?

It’s Thompson, but he looks like he can handle it.

He appeared right on time in the interview room, bringing his team to the mixed zone and making them available, too.

“I told the players,” Thompson said, “I don’t want any crying or anyone ashamed, unless you think you didn’t do your best.

“I figure they’ll let us back in the country.”

Why not? What goes around does come around, even if it’s American hoops.

Has the world caught up?

“I like it,” said Gomelsky, beaming.

Maybe he didn’t understand the question.

Maybe he did.