RJ, Ivy and 'Bron watch from the stands before taking the floor against Greece.

Tuesday was another whirlwind of hoops action from the Helliniko Arena. Here are some quick-hit observations on all six of the games, working in reverse order of finish. Enjoy.

United States 77 - Greece 71
- The atmosphere at the arena for the U.S.-Greece game was as spirited and loud as you'd expect. In fact, the "Hellas!" ("Greece") chants started with 4:30 left in the 4th quarter of the Argentina-Spain game.

- Larry Brown (R) wasn't exactly ecstatic during his postgame presser. He's still very concerned with the team's shot selection, and their ability to make shots. "Believe it or not, I think we'll make an outside shot at some point in this tournament," he said.

- The U.S. men came out for their warmups to Eminem's "Lose Yourself." During layup drills, the U.S. team was dunking with passion. Lebron, Dwyane and Amare were throwing it down the hardest, but Iverson won the creativity award for a move where he rose up two-handed, mashed the ball into the bottom of the backboard, then pivoted in midair and dropped in a reverse layup going the other way. I know the Olympics are all about fundamentals, but this was kind of cool.

- In the Olympics, teams exchange gifts before tip-off. Pretty much every other team in the competition hands out pins, but the U.S. men and women give baseball caps to the other teams.

- Tuesday represented the second game in a row where Dwyane Wade has slipped while driving the lane. Both men's and women's players have been losing their footing on the blue hardwood as well. Hopefully they can do something to make it a tad grippier; someone could really get hurt.

- The crowd actually physically helped the Greek team against the U.S. At one point in the second half, the fans warned one of their players of a U.S. defender who was approacing from behind, thereby averting a near-swipe. Also, their best chant of the night? Cheering "Puer-to Ri-co" over and over in the 3rd quarter.

- Lamar Odom had a great defensive game (eight rebounds and three blocks) despite staying up a sleepless night due to a stomach ailment. "I was up all night with pretty extreme stomach pain," said Odom. "I'm really dehydrated, and my energy level is low. But this is the Olympics; it's not a time to feel bad."

Spain 87 - Argentina 76
- Juan Manuel Calderon teams with Juan Carlos Navarro to give Spain one of the quickest backcourts in the tournament. Calderon, in fact, could be the fastest player in the tournament. No one can keep up with him in the open court. Plus, he's got a sweet stroke from the outside. Plus, he's only 22. (Next Tony Parker, anyone?)

- Scoreboards (R) here show points and fouls for every player on the roster. It's a great touch.

- Spain's Rudy Fernandez was throwing down some very nice dunks during warmups. Hoops fans should hope he gets a chance to strut his stuff at some point during the Olympics; he's a lithe 6-5 swingman who, at 19, could have a really solid NBA career before it's all said and done.

- European fans absolutely love doing the wave.

- Former NBA point guard Pepe Sanchez didn't play for much, if any, of the second half and Argentina really suffered because of it. He's a great distributor and the team gets better looks when he's in the game.

- Manu Ginobili struggled from the perimeter in the loss, going just 1-of-7 from 3-point range. But otherwise he was solid. He finished the game with 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.

- The Spanish coaching staff and trainers are all decked out in matching red and white docksiders. Only at the Olympics ...

Serbia & Montenegro 74 - Italy 72
- Serbia & Montenegro's Igor "Iggy" Rakocevic is emerging as one of the top point guards in the tournament. The former Timberwolves guard been shooting very well, and he's getting pretty much anywhere he wants on the floor when he has the ball. Plus, he gets great elevation on his jumpers.

- Italy's Gianmarco Pozzecco (R), a speedy 5-11 point guard who plays for Skipper Bologna, is positively blurry when driving to the hoop. Very exciting to watch. He's Italy's answer to Steve Nash, although his offensive game isn't quite as refined.

- Serbia's Vladimir Radmanovic is really getting a chance to show his stuff in this tournament. The Sonics forward isn't just shooting well -- although in two games, he's hit a combined 12-of-21 field goals and 7-of-12 3-pointers -- he's driving well and throwing crisp passes. The Sonics brass has to be licking its chops for the coming season; he's looking like a star.

- From the Italy-Serbia recap distributed in the press area: "Two pointless minutes of the fourth quarter ..." (I'm guessing they meant "scoreless.")

- Serbian coach Obradovic Zelimir (the same guy who stormed out of his first post-game presser without answering a question) is a coronary waiting to happen. He's so animated, he makes Dick Vitale look statuesque.

Lithuania 98 - Puerto Rico 90
- This one was a classic battle of the backcourts. It's tough to pick the best of the four out of Puerto Rico's Carlos Arroyo and Larry Ayuso, and Lithuania's Arvydas Macijauskas and Sarunas Jasikevicius, but Macijauskas has a very quick release (think Dell Curry-quick) and doesn't need any space to get his shot off. Basically, he's money from the perimeter. Teammate Darius Songaila, when asked if he's the best shooter in the world, said: "When he's on, yes."

- It's very easy to see why Macijauskas' backcourt mate, and former University of Maryland star, Sarunas Jasikeivicius, is seen as one of the top point guards in the world. He's an athletic, heady guard who keeps his teammates in check and is about as competitive as they come. He loves to play head games with the opposition.

- Arroyo and Ayuso (R), meanwhile, had 25 points each, and shot a combined 9-of-17 from 3-point range. Between Arroyo's drives and Ayuso's outside shooting, they're capable of carrying Puerto Rico deep into the tournament.

- Wizards second-round pick Peter John Ramos is raw, but moves well for a 7-3 player. With work, the Puerto Rican big man could emerge as a legitimate shot-blocker and rebounder.

China 69 - New Zealand 62
- Yao Ming was unstoppable in China's win, with 39 points and 13 rebounds. He also scored his team's first 19 points of the third quarter.

- Yao also got into it with one of the Kiwis towards the end and shoved one of their players. The crowd rained boos down upon the Chinese big man, but China coach Del Harris was sympathetic. "You can't put the pressure of a whole nation on him and expect him not to be emotional," said Harris. "He's a human being, after all."

- Harris on developing Chinese basketball: "As far as Chinese culture is concerned, people have to step out of it when they are on the floor and put on what we call a 'game face.' You can't just say, 'Sorry, I fouled you,' or 'Please take this rebound.' You have to do what it takes to win and be successful, as all successful teams in both the NBA and international competition have done before."

- Early in the second half, it looked as though Yao might challenge Oscar Schmidt's all-time Olympic scoring record of 55 points, but he faded towards the end.

Australia 83 - Angola 59
- Australia's Andrew Bogut -- a 19-year-old, 6-9 forward who plays for the University of Utah -- had 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting in the Aussies' win. Bogut also grabbed 11 boards and blocked three shots.

- Bogut also made a believer out of Angola coach Mario Palma. "[Bogut] just killed us," said Palma. "This kid -- who is very young, but has NBA material and will certainly be a star one day -- punished us. He can shoot 3-pointers, penetrate one-on-one, finish with both hands; I don't know many players who have some of his moves."

- Australian coach Brian Goorjian on defending the lane against the U.S.: "As it was well-written in an article, Puerto Rico put five refrigerators in the paint."

Lisa Leslie and company rode their inside game to a second win on Monday, but they still had their minds on Tim Duncan and the U.S. men's upset loss. (Garrett Ellwood, Jesse Garrabrant/NBAE Images)

The U.S. women cruised against a solid Czech Republic squad on Monday, and still had time to talk about what the men need to do to bounce back after falling to Puerto Rico.

Inside game? Check. Victory for U.S. women? Czech.
In game one, it was defense. So what was the key for the U.S. women in game two? Post play and rebounding.

The U.S. women used strong inside play from Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson, Yolanda Griffith and Tamika Catchings to earn an impressive 80-61 win over the Czech Republic. The final tally saw the U.S. squad out-rebound the Czechs 43-22, with the aforementioned foursome combining for 46 points and 25 rebounds.

Leslie

Thompson

After the game, Leslie said the frontline stepped up for the U.S. because that's what the game called for.

"I think certain games are a guards' game and certain games are a post game, and I think today was a post game," said Leslie. "I felt like they weren't really bringing a hard double-team to me and Tina, so we were aware we had to take advantage of that and do what we could inside."

Forward Swin Cash, who chipped in eight points and six rebounds, said the team saw its chance to do some damage inside and made the most of it.

"We knew they were a lot bigger than us across the frontline, so we just tried to take it inside and get them in early foul trouble and I think that worked to our advantage," said Cash.

So after riding defense, then rebounding to back-to-back wins, is there anything this squad can't do? Leslie said it's just a matter of figuring out what the right gameplan is.

"It's not about what we can't do, it's recognizing what we need to do to win," said Leslie. "At times, some teams are going to force us to shoot from the outside and make 3-pointers, and we are definitely capable of doing that. But if that's not the gameplan and that's not what we need, then we're not going to just settle for jumpshots."

Sympathy for the guys
The U.S. men's historic upset loss to Puerto Rico last night was still a major topic of discussion at the arena. So what did their female counterparts think about the setback? Some of the players shared their thoughts after Monday's game.

Johnson

"Unfortunately, last night the shots just weren't falling," said Shannon Johnson. "You saw them take shot, shot, shot, shot, and when the shots aren't falling, you've got to understand what you have to do to adjust and get the win. Their job is to win a gold medal, and while they took one step back last night, I think they can still get it done."

Lisa Leslie thinks that the guys could use a little more veteran leadership.

"We have our main (veterans on our team) with Sheryl Swoopes, Dawn Staley and myself, and then we have young players as well, with Swin Cash and Diana Taurasi," said Leslie. "So I think, right now, maybe if Shaq, Kobe and Kevin Garnett were here, and then you have this group of guys, then maybe they would have a little more leadership and a little more understanding of international play."

So is there anything else the men can do to help improve their chances?

"Yeah, they can come out and watch us play more," joked Leslie.

Stuck on Sunday
There was so much pure basketball action at the Helliniko Indoor Arena yesterday that many of the quirkier themes of the day were overlooked. Here's a smattering of observations after day one of the men's Olympic tournament:

Gasol

Nocioni

- The Queen of Spain was at yesterday's Spain-China game cheering on Pau Gasol and company.

- One thing it's hard to get used to if you're a longtime NBA fan: seeing players with their uniforms untucked.

- China's Yi Jianlian -- a 17-year-old, 6-11 NBA prospect -- vaguely resembles a young Kevin Garnett with his movement and athleticism. His shooting and skill level still have a long way to go, though. He'll also need to tuck his top in if he ever makes it to North America.

- During intermissions, a collection of NBA-worthy entertainers have been taking the floor. The "Center Court Dancers" are a female dance troupe hailing from Russia and Lithuania who veer more towards artistic and classical dance, yet are very popular with the fans. Same for the "Crazy Dunkers", a group of male trampoline-dunkers that regularly bring the fans out of their seats. Kudos to the groups for the keeping the crowds entertained, but how about some names that aren't quite so literal?

- Argentina's Andres Nocioni, who was recently signed by the Bulls, looked very strong and agile in his team's win, and also has a decent shooting touch. One could see where he'll immediately compete for minutes in Chicago.

- China's backcourt, including Kings prospect Liu Wei, can hold its own offensively. Defensively, however, they were having a lot of trouble handling Juan Carlos Navarro and his Spanish backcourt mates.

- Allen Iverson on if he thinks the international style of play is better than the U.S.' brand of hoops: "I think they play the game the way the game's supposed to be played. They don't play a lot off their athletic ability. They think the game out, like sort of a John Stockton-Karl Malone type game. They don't use as much athletic ability, they just execute and play together. And I think this game right here is good for the kids, to see how the game's supposed to be played."

- Larry Ayuso on what Puerto Rico's upset win means to his homeland: "This is for them. This is for them. This is history for them. We're out here to represent Puerto Rico, and our hats go off to them because they've always supported us. So keep supporting us one-hundred percent."

Carlos cruised, Manu was money, and Yao sounded off after losing to Pau and Spain. (NBAE Images)

The opening day of the men's Olympic basketball tourney turned out to be a thrilling day of hoops. Here are reports from the middle three games -- China vs. Spain, Argentina vs. Serbia & Montenegro, and Puerto Rico vs. United States, working backwards with Puerto Rico's historic upset Sunday night.

P.R. KO's the U.S.
Whether it was Carlos Arroyo faking Amare Stoudemire to the floor on the fastbreak, Jose Ortiz setting a jarring pick on Richard Jefferson, or Eddie Casiano and Larry Ayuso hitting three after three, one thing was clear from the start on Sunday night -- Puerto Rico was not the least bit intimidated by the legacy of U.S. hoops.

And in the end, Puerto Rico's quiet confidence -- combined with a great night from beyond the arc (as well as a horrible shooting night for the U.S.) -- carried the upstart Puerto Rican squad to a historic 92-73 upset win over the U.S. The loss marked the first time the U.S. men have lost an Olympic game since they began using NBA players in 1992. And this wasn't lost on the Puerto Rican players.

Arroyo

Santiago

"It's a great feeling to be a part of the first team to beat the U.S. pros," said Bucks forward Daniel Santiago. "Those guys are some of the best athletes in the world and to be able to get a shot like that and do what we did by (19) points, I think that says a lot for us and the potential that we have."

Allen Iverson, who went 1-for-10 from 3-point range, talked about what the loss means to the U.S. team.

"Any loss for us is a bad loss," said Iverson. "Obviously, we're the favorites to win the whole thing and we haven't lost a game since we've used NBA players, so it's a tough loss for us. But the only thing you can do is learn from the things you did wrong and try to make it better the next time."

Although the U.S. shot just .347 (26-of-75) from the field, Iverson thought the main factor that contributed to the U.S. loss was the team's poor defensive play.

"We just didn't play well defensively," said Iverson. "We didn't help each other out on defense, and they were able to knock down some shots."

Iverson also thought that the U.S. relied on their outside game too much.

"I think we kind of got carried away with our 3-point shooting," said the Sixers guard. "We obviously shot too many in the first half, and then we were down so many in the second half that that made us try to shoot more to get back in the game."

Puerto Rico, on the other hand, thrived from beyond the arc, going 8-for-16 from 3-point range. But the player who contributed the most to the upset win only hit one 3-pointer. Whether it was darting drives, clutch shots or no-look passes, point guard Carlos Arroyo -- who had 24 points, four rebounds, seven assists and four steals in the game -- picked quite a night to shine.

"That was probably one of the best games of his international career," said Santiago. "Obviously to do that on a stage like this says a lot about his game."

Backcourt mate Larry Ayuso, who contributed 15 points in the win, knows that as Arroyo goes, so goes this Puerto Rican team.

"He showed everybody in the NBA that he's an NBA player," said Ayuso. "He's very important to our team. He's the head of our team. The way he goes, we all go, so if he plays well we all play well.

Another instrumental part of Puerto Rico's win was 6-4 swingman Eddie Casiano, who scored 18 points -- including 4-for-4 from 3-point range -- in just 14 minutes of action. The U.S., meanwhile, went just 3-for-24 from 3-point range.

So is the U.S. lacking its own Casiano; i.e, a player that can consistently connect from long range? Ayuso believes that might be the case.

"Usually you have shooters on your team, and I think (the U.S.) wasn't built with consistent outside shooters," said Ayuso after the game. "I don't want to take anything away from those guys, because they obviously can make shots. That's why they make millions of dollars. But you can't really pick anybody out (on their team) that's a pure 3-point shooter, which they've had in the past."

Ayuso still believes the U.S. is a team to be reckoned with, however.

"They're still the U.S., and they're going to win some games," said the former USC guard. "Don't count them out."

Beyond being counted out, the U.S. players believe this loss could serve as a wake-up call.

"It can't do anything but help us," concluded Stephon Marbury after the game.

So was this an upset of the highest order. On the level of Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson, perhaps?

"Nah, I don't think so," said Ayuso. "Mike Tyson was on his way down at that time."

Ginobili!
His native Argentina has not won an Olympic gold, summer or winter, since 1952. His country has hitched its gold-medal hopes to this year's soccer team, who opened their competition with a 6-0 win over Serbia & Montenegro.

But if Manu continues with moments such as these, the country's basketball team just might be the squad to end Argentina's Olympic drought.

Ginobili

Radmanovic

In what could turn out to be the best game of the Olympics tournament, Spurs swingman Manu Ginobili hit a running bank-shot as time expired to give Argentina a thrilling 83-82 win over another Serbia & Montenegro on Sunday. The shot was the culmination of an exciting, back-and-forth game between two international powerhouses.

The matchup also featured oustanding performances by a couple of rising NBA stars. Ginobili led Argentina with 27 points, including hitting 4-of-6 3-pointers. His performance was nearly matched by Sonics forward Vladimir Radmanovic, who had 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and former Timberwolves guard Igor Rakocevic, who scored 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

But the shot is sure to be the lasting memory from this game. After hitting the game-winner, which came about after Argentina pushed the ball the length of the floor in 3.8 seconds, Ginobili was immediately lost in a pile of teammates, while Argentina's coach, Ruben Pablo Magnano, ran around the court in a scene that U.S. college fans would've found comparable to Jim Valvano after winning the '83 title. It touched off wild celebrations in the packed stands, as well as within the press area, where Argentinian sportswriters leapt and cheered in jubilation.

The emotional finish even carried over to the coaches' joint post-game press conference.

"Well, I've been preparing that play for over one-and-a-half months," joked a smiling Magnano.

As for Serbia & Montenegro's coach, Zelimir Obradovic, he created quite a stir by storming angrily out of the press conference after receiving his first question. Obradovic cited something about it being unneccessary for him to be translated into other languages, as his own native tongue should work well enough on its own.

Maybe he just couldn't stand to share a table with the other side of fate.

Yao sounds off
Moments after fouling out of China's opening Olympic game, an angry Yao Ming dropped himself into a chair on the end of the Chinese bench and slammed a towel down to the floor in disgust. Then, after the game ended for China in an 83-58 blowout loss, Yao walked over to the "mixed zone" (i.e., a cordoned-off hallway in the arena) to meet with the media. A group of Chinese reporters quickly surrounded him and peppered him with questions. Yao grew more and more agitated as the queries continued. He responded to question after question in an increasingly stern voice before walking abruptly away from the group.

Yao

Harris

Welcome to international play, where even stoic players such as Yao find it in themselves to show a little emotion. Evidently, representing one's country will do that to a player.

After Yao left the mixed zone, one of the Chinese journalists paraphrased his answers as best she could.

"He was very angry, very disappointed," she said. "He thought that the team might be better by now, but they were all making the same mistakes they were making at the World Championships in 2002. He also said that now that he was an older player, he needs to make sure the younger players step up. He said the team has changed its armor, but the heart is no different."

Yao had reason to be frustrated. He had just 12 points (on 4-of-11 shooting) and eight rebounds for the game, while his team hoisted a total of 26 3-pointers and often left their star big man uninvolved on offense.

But the thoughtful and intelligent Houston center put his anger away moments later. By the time Yao arrived for his official post-game press conference, he was calm once more.

"There are no regrets or pity," Yao said about the loss. "It's our fault. We gave up at the end, but we had our opportunities."

As for China coach Del Harris, his only regret was that he hasn't gotten Yao to be more assertive, especially on offense.

"I thought Yao was too much of a team player today," Harris said after the game. "He gave up the ball more than I would have liked. He'll have to be a little more aggressive in the rest of the tournament."

While the Mavericks assistant can certainly shoulder some of the blame for not getting his team to go through Yao more often, Harris faces an uphill battle in coaching the Chinese national team. He's currently without his top assistant (who is sick) and is basically working as a one-man coaching staff that doesn't even speak his team's language.

"I do film editing, I do scouting, I do the coaching," said Harris. "Staffing has been a problem."

Still, if there's one good thing China can take from the loss, it's that they're likely to get a passionate and fired-up Yao in the next game. When asked by a Chinese journalist if showing so much anger with his team was productive, Yao -- using a translator -- quoted a famous Chinese writer.

"If you don't break out of silence, you're destined to die in silence."

Tao of Yao, indeed.