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 SAPPORO, Japan (AP) - After mowing down five exhibition opponents by an average of 34 points, the U.S. is ready to re-establish ownership of international basketball.
The exhibitions demonstrated that the Americans are treating the world championships as the start of a larger mission that, if all goes as planned, will culminate in a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
But first comes the world championships, which have long been emphasized by foreign teams and overlooked in the United States.
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