Yugoslavs Beat U.S. for Gold : Goodwill Games: American guards make a combined six of 27 shots in 85-79 loss. Team finishes tournament.

This is what happens when you don’t care enough to send the best.

This is what happens when the heart of your national collegiate champion, Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon of Nevada Las Vegas, take their invitations, wad them up and bank a couple of three-pointers into the circular file.

This is what happens when the best amateur jump-shooting talents in the land--Dennis Scott, Jeff Fryer, Steve Smith--never make it to the airport.

This is what happens when a 7-foot rim-crusher named Shaquille O’Neal is dispatched to terrorize teen-agers at the Olympic Festival but not the Europeans at the Goodwill Games.

Losses to the Soviet Union happen.

Losses to Yugoslavia happen.

Silver medals happen.

In case the events of Seoul ’88 were forgotten, Sunday night’s gold-medal game at the Goodwill Games reminded all involved that the days when the United States could suit up the B team and still win international tournaments are long gone. When Yugoslavia beats the United States, 85-79, on the Americans’ home court and looks impressive doing it, you know the rest of the world has caught on to the Americans’ game.

Yugoslavia beat the United States without its two top players--Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic--and after a third, Zarko Paspalj, went down in a heap in the first five minutes because of a badly sprained ankle. What kind of losses were these? Divac (the Lakers), Petrovic (Portland Trail Blazers) and Paspalj (San Antonio Spurs) all played in the NBA last season.

The best of the rest, 6-11 center Dino Radja, scored only nine points after sitting out most of the second half because of foul trouble.

So, Yugoslavia pretty much was down to the junior varsity--and the United States still had to look up on the victory stand.

If U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski got off the plane in Seattle, looked around and was satisfied with the backcourt he brought north, pass the blame his way. The Americans played the entire tournament without a legitimate shooting guard; when Arkansas’ Lee Mayberry proved a bust, forward Todd Day replaced him in the starting lineup. And when All-American point guard Kenny Anderson succumbed to a severe case of spotlight jitters, the U.S. outside game went out to lunch.

No team in the eight-country Goodwill field shot as poorly as the United States, which finished the five-game tournament at 38%. And the Americans saved the worst for last. Sunday, the U.S. backcourt was a combined six for 27. Day was one for 12. Anderson was four for 10. Mayberry, who missed all five of his shots in Tuesday’s upset loss to the Soviets, made only one of five shots against Yugoslavia.

The United States trailed most of the game--by three points at halftime and by 72-65 with six minutes left.

Then, Yankee ingenuity hit a new low.

Jurij Zdovc, Yugoslavia’s leading scorer with 21 points, missed a free throw. The Americans couldn’t wait to rebound. Mark Randall came crashing in from the left side. Doug Smith powered in from the right.

Both players tipped the ball--into the basket.

For the Americans, it was the play of the tournament--the definitive play of the tournament.

Through Yugoslav foul attrition--first Radja fouled out, then Radisav Curcic (10 points)--the United States hung in long enough to pull within 81-78 with 1:48 to play.

Yugoslavia missed a shot.

The Americans rebounded and passed to Doug Smith, who drove inside and missed. Billy Owens rebounded and whipped the ball back to Smith.

The ball hit Smith in the hands and bounded out of bounds.

The clock showed 42.2 seconds.

Yugoslavia retaliated with a basket by Zoran Savic, its lead was 83-78 and the Americans were on their way to their second defeat in four games.

Krzyzewski blamed the defeat on the Americans’ youth and the Yugoslavs’ savvy. He used the same routine after the loss to the Soviets. He said his team was using the Goodwill Games to tune for next month’s world championships in Argentina.

But by then, Divac and Petrovic will be back in Yugoslav uniforms. And the Soviet Union expects to regain one or two of its Lithuanian gunners.

It isn’t easy anymore.