Jermaine O'Neal said he still won't walk with his head up in Indianapolis.

"Not until we get a gold medal," O'Neal said.

O'Neal still stings from being part of the U.S. team that finished sixth in the World Championship in Indy last summer. There's anger. There's embarrassment. But there is a little less of it now after O'Neal, in a monster effort, led the U.S. Olympic qualifying team to a 94-86 victory here yesterday over Argentina, the first of three teams to beat the Americans last summer.

"I don't think it ever really did wear off," said O'Neal, the 22-point anchor of coach Larry Brown's inside-out game plan. "When everybody looks back in the record book at the first team that lost, my name is going to be involved with that team. What we have to do now is work toward the gold medal. I'd rather people look back and see what team won the gold, see my name down there."

Well, the Argentines saw too much of O'Neal, who grabbed 10 rebounds, six offensive, and came up with the game's key defensive play: a thunderous rejection of Argentine center Fabricio Oberto with 1:48 left. That block resulted in a breakaway dunk for Vince Carter (11 points), who again played in place of injured Tracy McGrady.