Look on the bright side American hoops fans: At least Puerto Rico is a U.S. commonwealth.

That's about the only positive to be gleaned from Sunday's embarrassing loss in Athens, a game henceforth to be known in USA Basketball circles as the "PR Disaster."

Sure, we saw our perfect 24-0 record in Olympic play (while using NBA players) go up like flaming saganaki. But who knew our Caribbean cousins could hoop like that? Maybe we should forget this whole Dream Team thing and sign up Carlos Arroyo & Co. as our representatives for the 2008 Games. Or at least add them as the 51st state so we can raid their roster.

All kidding aside, as well as Puerto Rico played, Sunday's loss revealed more about Team USA than its foes. As many of us had been saying for weeks, coach Larry Brown's squad was ripe for the picking. Few would have guessed they would get plucked in the very first game -- against a team that wasn't even supposed to medal -- but the end result is no big surprise.

Team USA can still win the gold medal (Sunday's loss was a preliminary game), but it's going to be difficult. This U.S. team just isn't balanced enough. With no reliable outside shooters, it simply cannot make foes pay for zoning up on Tim Duncan. Against Puerto Rico, the U.S. made just 3-of-24 shots from 3-point range.

Team USA's only hope after a while Sunday was to play defense like maniacs and get out on the fast break. It proved easier said than done. With the underrated Arroyo patiently orchestrating his team's attack, Puerto Rico solved the Yanks' D just often enough in the second half to hold them off.

Some U.S. fans are going to blame the current Team USA players for Sunday's debacle. Fair enough. Richard Jefferson (he of the recent $78 million contract extension) hit the side of the backboard on one wide open 3-point attempt, and Allen Iverson threw the ball into the third row.

But at least Iverson and Jefferson are in Athens. Unlike many of their fellow big-name NBA stars, the 12 members of Team USA gave up their summer to play for the red, white and blue. True, their endorsers might have twisted their arms. And, yes, two weeks in Greece aboard the Queen Mary II ain't bad for a working vacation. But they still agreed to represent the nation when they could have stayed home and rested after an 82-game NBA season.

Besides, Sunday's loss wasn't for lack of effort. The U.S. players competed, especially in the second half when they rallied to trim a 22-point deficit to eight. Unfortunately, they didn't get many breaks.

Once they nearly forced a shot clock violation only to have Daniel Santiago throw in a 15-foot jumper that hit the side of the rim and bounced up and through the net. Another time, Arroyo banked in a 3-pointer. Then, with the U.S. edging closer late, Lamar Odom drove baseline only to get hip-checked by a Puerto Rico defender. Odom lost the ball, and Puerto Rico took off the other way on a fast break that ended with Arroyo scoring a layup and drawing a foul for a critical three-point play.

It was that kind of day all around for the U.S. In fact, the only saving grace for American hoops fans might have been that it was our little island friend, Puerto Rico, that got to make history and spoil our perfect Olympic record. After all, it could have been France.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com.