Eight years after the United States basketball team's last major win, the star players can call themselves Olympic champions again. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade led the US to a closer-than-it-looks 118-107 victory over world champion Spain before a capacity crowd of 18,000 Sunday on the last of the 17 days of the Beijing Games. At the end of 16 days of competition and 302 events, China had 51 gold medals, 15 more than the United States on 36, with Russia winning 23 and Great Britain 19. It is the first time China has won the gold medal count, although in total medals won the USA has 110 to China's 100. The American team's last gold came at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Since then, it lost at the world championships at home in Indianapolis in 2002, only managed bronze and had two losses at the Athens Olympics in 2004, and lost in the semifinals at the 2006 world championships in Japan. On Sunday, Spain trailed for most of the game but pulled within two points early in the fourth quarter and four with four minutes left before Bryant and Wade made clutch 3-pointers to hold off the threat. “It is more important and more special than any championship that any of us will ever win,” Bryant said. Wade finished with 27 points and Bryant added 20. Rudy Fernandez had 22 points and Pau Gasol 21 for Spain. Bryant and Gasol, teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers, gave each other an extended hug at the end of the game. “I love him like a brother,” Bryant said. “I truthfully wish we were playing someone else in the final.” James said: “Much respect to Spain, but the US is back on top again.” Argentina took the bronze with an 87-75 victory over Lithuania. Earlier, Samuel Wanjiru pulled away over the final few kilometers to become the first Kenyan to win an Olympic marathon. Kenyans had twice won men's marathon silver medals, most recently in 2000, but never a gold. “In Kenya, we have many medals, but I'm glad to have this one, too,” the Japan-based Wanjiru said. “It feels good to make history here.” The 21-year-old Wanjiru finished the 42.2-kilometer (26.2-mile) course through the streets of Beijing in bright sunshine in an Olympic record of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 32 seconds. The US volleyball team won the gold medal match over defending champion Brazil, completing an emotional 2? weeks in Beijing. With the 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 victory, the US team went undefeated in the competition en route to its third gold medal in the sport. On Aug. 9 - the day after the opening ceremony - coach Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law was fatally stabbed in Beijing. He missed the team's first three games to be with his family. Zou Shiming won China's first gold medal in boxing after Mongolian light flyweight Serdamba Purevdorj retired early in the second round of their title bout with an apparent shoulder injury. It was also China's leading 50th gold medal of the games. Badar-Ugan Enkhbat of Mongolia won the bantamweight gold medal, beating Yankiel Leon of Cuba 16-5, while Alexey Tishchenko of Russia has won his second Olympic gold, surviving a tight bout against Daouda Sow of France for an 11-9 victory. Bakhyt Sarsekbayev of Kazakhstan won the welterweight title, upsetting Cuban favorite Carlos Banteaux 18-9. Light heavyweight Zhang Xiaoping added China's second gold, beating Kenny Egan of Ireland 11-7. Roberto Cammarelle of Italy won the super heavyweight gold, stopping Zhang Zhilei of China in the final round for his second Olympic medal. Cammarelle is the defending world champion and a bronze winner in Athens. Hungary won its third straight men's water polo gold, beating the United States 14-10 and Russia won its third straight in rhythmic gymnastics' all-around group competition. France beat Iceland 28-23 in the men's handball final, denying Iceland its first-ever Olympic gold. – AP __
