U.S OLYMPIC TRIALS : Injured Thumb Sidelines Ewing

Patrick Ewing suffered a dislocated right thumb when he hit the rim in practice at La Jolla on Thursday and is expected to miss the United States’ first three games of the Olympic qualifying Tournament of the Americas.

Ewing also suffered a cut that required five stitches. He said doctors told him he will be out five days.

That means he will miss games against Cuba on Sunday, Canada on Monday and Panama on Tuesday. The top four teams in the 10-team tournament, to begin Saturday at Portland, Ore., will advance to Barcelona.

The injury occurred about halfway through a two-hour practice at UC San Diego. Ewing was taken to a hospital for X-rays, which were negative.

Because center David Robinson is coming off surgery on his left thumb in late March, Coach Chuck Daly said he would move Karl Malone to center and also rely on Christian Laettner, who has been playing both forward and center.

The Olympians wrapped up Thursday’s practice session by winning a 10-minute scrimmage, 30-17. Duke’s Bobby Hurley said the teams also played a 20-minute scrimmage, with the Olympians winning, 72-39. Practices are closed except for the last 15 minutes, when reporters are allowed into the gym.

On Wednesday, the collegians beat the Olympians, 62-54, in a 20-minute scrimmage.

“I think it was a one-shot deal, pretty much,” Hurley said. “We just played exceptionally well and I think it took a little bit of time for those guys to get into the flow of things. We had some really good moments, but today they really showed us up. They showed that they’re the best.”

In the U.S. Olympic cycling trails at Blaine, Minn., Rebecca Twigg’s comeback took one more remarkable turn Thursday night when she defeated two-time defending champion Janie Eickhoff in the women’s individual pursuit final to earn a trip to the Olympics.

Twigg joined Erin Hartwell and Carl Sundquist in qualifying for the team that will compete at Barcelona next month.

Hartwell, of Colorado Springs, Colo., won the men’s kilometer time trial and Sundquist, of Miami, won the men’s individual pursuit.

Twigg, of Seattle, won a silver medal in the 1984 Olympics and 10 national senior titles before crashing during a road workout in 1987 and suffering a concussion and injured thumb. She retired from competition in 1988 and worked as a computer programmer before resuming training last October.

“I probably thought this was remotely possible then,” Twigg said after winning in 3 minutes, 50.47 seconds. “I really can’t believe I actually did it.”