The world basketball elite teams would face the biggest challenge of the century from the former powerhouse the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Big names like Kobe Byrant, LeBron James, Jason Kidd, Dwight Howard responded to the call of the USA Basketball to form up another Dream Team for the Olympic gold medal.

Members of the US men's Olympic basketball team pose in their official uniforms for photographs on the top deck of a tour boat near the Statue of Liberty in New York, June 30, 2008.

The US team has failed three times to claim the best men's basketball team in the world, once at the Games and twice at the World Championships, since it won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Defending champion Argentina beat the US twice, and world champion Spain had one at the three competitions when the US recorded 19-7, finishing third twice and sixth once.

The US vowed to come back at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They sent a star-studded squad to the 2007 American Olympic qualifying tournament where they ran to 10-0 to win the title.

An expanded 33-member training camp was set up and the USA Basketball selected 12 out of them in hope of regaining the throne of the world basketball.

Manu Ginobili, the Most Valuable Player at the Athens 2004, sustained an ankle injury, but did not rule out the chance to play for Argentina at the Beijing.

Veteran teammates Luis Scola, the MVP of the 2007 American Qualifying Tournament, and Pablo Prigioni, who had the most assists at the tournament, are ready to take another gold medal before they retire from the internationals.

The US beat Argentina 118-81 at the championship match at the tournament when Ginobili was absent.

Spain was bracketed with the US?in Group B to have a chance to revenge a 102-94 loss in the quarterfinals at Athens four years ago.

Pau Gasol, who played his first NBA Finals last season with the Los Angles Lakers, will lead Spain to face the US, which were led by his Lakers' teammate Byrant.

They will the center piece of the scene of basketball competition at the Beijing Olympics.

(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2008)