ATHENS, Greece, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Puerto Rico handed the United States an embarrassing Olympic basketball loss Sunday night, the first ever for American NBA players.
While a setback had been expected at these Games, the fact that the loss came to Puerto Rico was a huge surprise. The Americans trailed by 22 at halftime and eventually fell, 92-73.
The Olympic tournament appears wide open after a surprising opening day.
Emanuel Ginobili hit an off-balanced running shot at the buzzer to give Argentina an 83-82 win over defending world champion Serbia-Montenegro.
Defending European champion Lithuania struggled before edging Angola, 78-73. China, with center Yao Ming, was crushed by Spain, 83-58.
The biggest shock came when the Americans could hit only three of 24 three-pointers while suffering from sloppiness throughout.
Allen Iverson was one of 10 from long range and had 15 points.
Puerto Rico was led by Utah point guard Carlos Arroyo with 24 points.
One loss does not eliminate a team from the medal round. A team needs only two victories in five round-robin games to reach the quarterfinals. The Americans next play Greece Tuesday night.
