Cathine

After awakening to news of bombings Tuesday, the U.S. Olympic basketball team decided to play on.

And by the time the Americans finished an 80-68 victory over Turkey in front of a jeering and whistling crowd in Istanbul, they pronounced themselves ready for Athens -- but jittery from an anxious day.

The Americans' final Olympic tuneup was similar to many others during an up-and-down tour through Europe. They were unable to dominate an opponent that figured to be vastly overmatched, but they got the job done in the end.

What made this day different was a major off-the-court event that tested their focus.

The team learned early in the morning that bombs had exploded at two tourist hotels and a fuel depot a few miles from their hotel.

"I don't know that everybody is absolutely confident and secure with everything, but they said everything would be fine, so you have to keep going on," Tim Duncan said.

Duncan shot 12-for-14 and led the U.S. team with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

The play that set off the fans came when LeBron James swiped at the ball and hit Turkish guard Ibrahim Kutluay in the eye. Kutluay lay writhing on the floor before walking off. He eventually returned.

Another Turkish player went down moments later, and the whistles and shrieks from the crowd reached earsplitting levels whenever the Americans had the ball thereafter.

"This is part of the game. I think it was the right answer from the fans, and they'll see it in Greece, too," Turkish center Mehmet Okur said.

CAPRIATI WITHDRAWS: Jennifer Capriati was forced to pull out of the Athens Games with a hamstring injury and was replaced on the U.S. team by Lisa Raymond.

Capriati won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games but missed the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. She told coach Zina Garrison on Sunday she could not play because of the injury, which has been bothering Capriati since July.

FIRST EJECTION: In the first doping case of the Athens Olympics, a Kenyan boxer was barred from the games after failing an out-of- competition drug test in the athletes' village.

Bantamweight David Munyasia, 24, tested positive for the banned stimulant cathine, the International Olympic Committee said.

The boxer was disqualified from the Athens Games, which open Friday.

AP

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