While the Angolans idolized the Americans, it’s safe to assume the opposite wasn’t true. This much was admitted by a U.S. scout, who admitted “all we know is that they qualified for the Olympics and they are from Africa.”
In the end, the Americans demolished the Angolans by a final score of 116-48, and for as bad as that sounds, the game was actually more of a blowout than the score indicates. To be precise, there was actually an insane 13-minute run where they outscored Angola 46-1, but it’s that one point that created a whole lot of temporary trouble for the Dream Team.
More over, the point wasn’t as important to the game as was the play that caused it. For anyone that’s forgotten, it was a free throw that came after a flagrant foul on Charles Barkley, who decided to deliver a message to Herlander Coimbra in the form of a right elbow.
Naturally, there was mild outrage from the fans in attendance. In addition to that, the international media covering the event immediately began referring to the Dream Team as “Ugly Americans” and “bullies,” which got a fair amount of play in the ensuing coverage. The American media was also embarrassed, and even Karl Malone took a shot at Sir Charles, saying “I don’t think we need to go out and do anything that would degrade anybody.”
As for Barkley, his response was quick and to the point, as he simply said “You hit me, I’ll hit you; even if it doesn’t look like he’s eaten in a while.”
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