The Day in Review : Backboards Are More of a Test for U.S. Men Than Is Venezuela

The U.S. men’s basketball team started slowly, leading by only six points at halftime, but it turned the final 20 minutes into a dunking exhibition in a 91-66 Pan American Games victory over Venezuela.

The crowd of about 5,000 in the Sports City Coliseum loved the show, but officials must have been somewhat nervous after two backboards were shattered by routine dunks in the first two days of the tournament.

The backboards survived Monday’s games, but a sponsor’s sign on the floor was almost wrecked by U.S. Coach Gene Keady. Frustrated by his team’s first-half play, he kicked at it twice, connecting once.

“Once again, we had a terrible start,” said Purdue’s Keady, whose team won its opener Saturday by four points over Cuba. “I don’t know what the deal is. But, finally, we got untracked.”

Center Adam Keefe of Stanford said that teams are playing better against the United States than he and his teammates expected.

“It’s a big game for these teams we’re playing because we’re one of the better teams in the pool, and they’re very up when they play against us,” he said.

The Venezuelans were not completely unfamiliar to the U.S. team. Gabriel Estaban and Carl Herrera played at South Alabama and Houston, respectively, and Cesar Portillo has enrolled at South Alabama.