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Tuesday, September 19
U.S. unbeatable, says Yugoslav coach
Reuters
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Defending world basketball
champion and 1996 Atlanta Olympic silver medalists Yugoslavia
said on Sunday the star-studded United States team was
unbeatable and favourites for the gold medal.
"They are unbeatable," head coach Zelimir Obradovic told
reporters through an interpreter after Yugoslavia defeated a
composite Australian professional league team in a warm-up
match before the Games.
Obradovic, who is one of the top European league coaches,
said he agreed with the assessment of Australian head coach
Barry Barnes that the NBA professionals were too good.
"We agree with that," Obradovic said.
"They are the one and only favorites and all the other
teams will be fighting to get into the finals."
The likely silver and bronze medal contenders are
Yugoslavia, European champion Italy, and Australia, who
recently scored a 78-71 victory over Yugoslavia at a Hong Kong
tournament.
Russia and Canada are also seen as medal chances.
The U.S. team includes NBA stars Gary Payton of the Seattle
Supersonics, Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway of the Miami
Heat, Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors, Steve Smith of the
Portland Trail Blazers and Jason Kidd of the Phoenix Suns.
Obradovic also said that his players, including injured
Sacramento Kings forward Predrag Stojakovic, needed to improve
their second half performance as they tended to be complacent.
The team have two more pre-Olympic games against Lithuania
and France at Wollongong, about an hour's drive south of
Sydney, on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
Stojakovic, a forward who
averaged 11.9 points a game and 3.7 rebounds a game in 1999-2000, rolled his left ankle at training on
Saturday.
"It's nothing serious," he told Reuters. "It just happened last night in practice. The floor was a little slippery. I hope it will be better the day after tomorrow."
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