By Eduardo Maisonet, III / @edthesportsfan

For FOX Deportes

For five days, I’ve been fortunate to travel with Team USA Basketball and Nike as they put on the spectacle known as the World Basketball Festival in Washington, D.C. For something that started back in 2010 in NYC, this event has evolved into a celebration of performance and culture that surrounds the game of basketball. Now in 2012, the World Basketball Festival has expanded the circuit to London, Paris, Barcelona and D.C.

WBF 2012 in D.C. featured the USA Basketball Men’s and Women’s National Teams as their training and practice was open to the public, especially the service men and women in the DMV area. Nike and Converse held community events at Barry Farms and Banneker  Park that included refurbished basketball courts, free concerts and brand experiences with the general public. Good times were had, connections were made, and now we’re ready to see if Team USA can bring home the gold in a few weeks.

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By Jose M. Romero / @RomeroJoseM

For Fox Deportes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Carmelo Anthony held a small American flag uniform patch in one hand, realizing that clutching it was the best way for him to keep it safe.

For this was a uniform accessory that truly has meaning, a flag from a U.S. military serviceman that presumably will be sewn onto the USA Olympic basketball teams’ (men’s and women’s) jerseys to be worn in London.

Saturday in the nation’s capital, the NBA superstars who make up the USA squad – and one rookie, center Anthony Davis – held a practice leading up to Monday’s exhibition game against Brazil in Washington. It was a treat for select American military personnel and their families, who packed the D.C. Armory to see the gold-medal favorites in action as the main attraction of Nike’s World Basketball Festival.

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By Eduardo Maisonet, III / @edthesportsfan

For FOX Deportes

If you were not aware, Team USA Basketball has officially begun their training to prepare for the 2012 London Olympics. Team USA is the clear favorite to bring home the gold once again, to no one’s amazement, although many of the potential team members will have had just a few weeks to rest and recover from a hectic 2011-12 NBA campaign.

One of America’s leaders on this 2012 team will be the man with the Puertorican flag tattooed on his shooting hand, Mr. Carmelo Anthony.

For Anthony, this will be his third rodeo with the Men’s Olympic team. In 2004, he was a rookie on what some would call America’s biggest international embarrassment. USA would relinquish their hold on the gold medal in 2004, sustain an overhaul of USA’s entire organization, and in 2008 Carmelo was not only a captain of the squad, but arguably the team’s most dominant player. The Redeem Team wrecked havoc on all comers and the USA brought home their first gold medal in an international competition in 8 years since the 2000 Olympics.

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