WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP COLOMBIA 1982
Playing the tournament in Colombia created another problem, that of altitude. The capital, Bogota, the most industrialised city in the country was situated at 2,630 metres, the other selected cities for the first round were Medellin( 1,538 metres) and Bucaramanga( 1,018). Cali, the sporting capital of the country was chosen for the final phase( 1,103 metres above sea level) and the consolation round was scheduled for Cucuta, at an altitude of a mere 215 metres.
Everyone wanted to avoid Group A, situated in Bogota, because of the altitude. The teams that drew the short straws were USA, Panama, Spain and the People ' s Republic of China. There were clear expectations for each of these teams. USA was expected to win all their matches and the inexperienced China was expected to lose all of theirs. Spain and Panama were expected to fight out the second place in the group giving qualification for the final phase in Cali.
Panama was living a golden age under Rolando Frazer, Eduardo Chavez, Mario Butler and Ernesto Malcon, many of whom were educated in the USA. Spain was aware of this and gave them respect but was perfectly able to stand alongside their rival. Antonio Diaz Miguel could call on the highly experienced Juan Antonio Corbalan and Wayne Brabender and a generation of talented youngsters such as Epi, Sibilio, Fernando Martin and Romay who were destined to give Spain some of their greatest moments of glory.
The match between Spain and Panama was held in front of 20,000 spectators. The lead changed constantly between the two sides and finally ended in favour of Spain( 88-85) although it could have gone either way. With 38 seconds left on the clock Spain were leading by a single point and Panama then missed three consecutive shots( Malcon, Gill and Medrick). On their fourth failed attempt the rebound fell to Sibilio who was fouled. Two free-throws at the very end of the game rounded off the scoring.
Despite not having become accustomed to the altitude the USA cruised past China. At long last the USA had finally fulfilled their promise to send a competitive team to the world championship. This time the team bore no resemblance to those of the past and there was absolutely no doubt about the team ' s potential. Coach Robert Weltlich had a team of future NBA players such as Glenn“ Doc” Rivers, Mark West, John Sundvold, Mitchell Wiggins, Jeff Turner, Joe Kleine and Antoine Carr along with John Pinone who would begin his career in Spain as his lack of height prevented him from getting a place in the professional league, he was far shorter than the 2.10 metres stated on his card.
The US victory over Panama( 100-79) combined with the Spanish victory against China( 108-78) gave the two winners their ticket to Cali. The final match between the two finished in one of the biggest surprises of the tournament, Spain beat the USA( 100-99) with a star performance from Corbalan( 19 points).
218 FUNDACIÓN PEDRO FERRÁNDIZ