ESP - A great Spain kept off top of podium twice by USA

LONDON (Olympics) -Spain could not have done any more to beat the United States in the gold-medal game of the Olympics.

They mounted furious challenges in Beijing and London, and lost each time.

For the Spaniards, who No. 2 in the FIBA World Rankings thanks to a World Championship win in 2006, and their two European title triumphs (2009, '11), the European giants may have given it their best shot and it just wasn’t good enough.

Olympic Games are not played every year, or every other year, but every four years.

In 2016, when the Games are held in Rio de Janeiro, both Pau Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro will be 36 years of age.

Both have been, and continue to be, extraordinary players.

But can they keep it going for another four years and if so, would they be as potent then as they are now?

Felipe Reyes, who was in the same junior teams as Gasol and Navarro, played his last game for Spain on Sunday.

Marc Gasol, who has blossomed into one of the best centers in the world and is still in his prime, knows Pau and Navarro well.

He is Pau's brother, Navarro's friend.

"There will be players that will be their last Olympics," Marc Gasol said.

"Some players need to rest.

"There will never be a Pau, a Navarro, there's a mixture of talent and personality that is unique."

Pau and Navarro haven’t stated their intentions to play, nor have they indicated that retirement will happen.

Neither like to look too far ahead.

It’s possible, even likely, that both will be in the squad when Spain host the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2014.

Maybe each will turn out next year as Spain go for a third straight EuroBasket gold medal in Slovenia.

Perhaps they will rest next summer instead, with the intention to get ready for the World Cup.

As for Rio, it’s hard to imagine Spain not having a leading role because they certainly have had for the past three Olympics.

Each time, the United States has beaten them, including in 2004 when an unbeaten Spain lost 102-94 to the Americans in the Quarter-Finals.

But the reality is that Spain will have to qualify for Rio, and that’s easier said than done.

"It's not going to be easy to be in Rio,” Marc Gasol said.

“The game is growing and only 12 teams compete at the Olympics.

“A lot of good teams, a lot of good players miss out on the Olympics.

“It is really tough just to be here.

“Just to make it is an accomplishment.”

If the mood in the Spanish camp after the 2008 Olympic could be summed up with the words, “We’ll see you in London for the rematch,” there was a sense that London may have been the last chance for the Pau Gasol- and Juan Carlos Navarro-led Spain to beat the USA to gold.

Only time will tell.

What is certain, however, is that Spain do have talent in abundance.

Sergio Rodriguez was left out of the squad from 2008 until returning this summer and he was electrifying in the gold-medal game against the United States.

No matter who plays, the future remains bright for the Spanish game.

FIBA