Argentina hand USA first ever defeat

Argentina sent shock waves through the world of basketball on Wednesday, handing the United States a 87-80 defeat at the world championships. The stunning upset is the first ever loss for the U.S. when using NBA players in international competition.

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The win gives Argentina (6-0) first place in group F and the loss gives the United States (5-1) plenty to think about as it prepares for quarter-final play on Thursday. Since 1992, when NBA players were allowed to represent the United States internationally, the U.S. had gone 58-0, including three Olympic Games and two world championships.

But that streak came to a shocking halt as the Americans could not match the intensity or tempo of Argentina, who were clearly better prepared than their much-heralded opponents were.

"I tip my hat to Argentina," U.S. coach George Karl said. "We got beat. Period. We've been hearing for the last two to three weeks from our scouts that they have been playing the best basketball of any team here.

"We lost our composure with their intensity. Our lack of urgency in the first half in the game hurt us earlier [in the tournament] and it really hurt us tonight."

Argentina led by as many as 20 points in the first half and carried an imposing 53-37 lead into the intermission. The U.S. never led in the game, trailing 34-21 after one quarter, although the Americans did close to within six points late in the third quarter and trailed 68-60 heading into the final 10 minutes.

But Argentina didn't panic and slowly pulled further ahead, before fending off a late American rally attempt to stun the crowd at the Conseco Fieldhouse. The Americans will now head into the quarter-finals still with an opportunity to win a gold medal, but for the first time in an international event with NBA players, no longer undefeated.

"I'm happy it happened now and we can still accomplish what we wanted to accomplish, which is win a gold medal," Karl said.

Emanuel Ginobili had 15 points to lead Argentina, while Andres Noccioni added 14 points. Luis Scola had 13 points for the winners, while Fabricio Oberto added 11 points. Paul Pierce led all scorers with 22 points, while Michael Finley and Andre Miller both had 14 points.

"They were a little bit more hungry than us," a dejected Pierce said. "Personally I'm embarrassed to be on the [American] team that took the first loss."

Argentina was obviously elated with the win, as the players hugged and celebrated on the bench as the final seconds wound down.

"We had conviction that we would not lose the battle before the game started," coach Ruben Magnano said. "We knew how difficult it would be, but not impossible. For us, this victory is utterly important."

The contingent of Argentinean fans in the stands erupted into cheers and sang as the final seconds wound down on the mammoth upset.

Fabricio Oberto, who pulled down nine rebounds and had 11 points form the winners, appeared to be in a state of shock after the game. "We still don't know what we have done," Oberto said. He wasn't the only person wondering what happened in Indianapolis Wednesday night.