* U.S. take on Spain in basketball showdown
* East Africans square off in marathon
* British pop royalty to sparkle in closing ceremony
By Matt Falloon and Larry Fine
LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - East Africans start as favourites in the men's marathon and the U.S. basketball Dream Team defend their Olympic title on Sunday as the London 2012 Games, blessed with the sprint pyrotechnics of Usain Bolt and the record-breaking legacy of swimmer Michael Phelps, draw to a close.
Peppered with household names from the glitzy world of NBA such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, the Americans will do battle with a dangerous Spanish team looking for revenge in a repeat of Beijing's final.
"We all know what's on the line," said U.S. player Kevin Durant. "They're going to come out and give us their best shot. We got our work cut out for us."
A victory on the court is likely to cement the Americans' place at the top of the overall Olympics medals table. The U.S. team began the final day on 44 golds, above China with 38 and Britain on 28, well above their Beijing tally of 19.
Kenya's rivalry with Ethiopia resumes in the marathon, which starts and finishes in the Mall near Buckingham Palace, with Kenya looking to Wilson Kipsang, Abel Kirui and Emmanuel Mutai while Ethiopia will rely on Ayele Abshero, Dino Sefir and Getu Feleke.
Women's modern pentathlon will be the last event to round off the two-week extravaganza of sport before some of Britain's best-known pop acts, including The Who and George Michael, play out the closing ceremony.
The U.S. basketball team will find it hard to top Saturday night's spectacle on the track when Bolt led a Jamaican quartet to 4x100 metres gold in world record-breaking time and the hosts' Mo Farah claimed another title - this time the 5,000 metres.
Bolt added the relay title to the 'double double' he won in the 100m and 200m, defending both after his Beijing triumphs and writing his way into Olympic history as one of the finest - and zaniest - sprinters the world has known.
As he crossed the line, Bolt cupped his hands in an 'M' shape above his head - a nod to Farah who had earlier run away from the pack to win Britain's first men's 5,000 gold.
Farah, contributing to the home team's biggest medal haul in more than a century, is the seventh man to win the 5,000 and 10,000 titles at the same Olympics.
Prime Minister David Cameron singled out Farah's heroics as a highlight of the Games, which have generated huge public enthusiasm in Britain despite widespread earlier reservations about the cost and potential disruption.
"It's an enormous confidence boost about who we are as a country, what we can do, what we stand for, and the fact that we can make our way in a very tough and competitive world," he told the BBC.
The final moments of Olympic glory in track and field on Saturday brought a close to an eventful penultimate day of the Games in which startling athletic prowess did not completely dominate the headlines.
Syrian athlete Ghfran Almouhamad, who competed in the women's 400 metres hurdles, was the 11th athlete to be excluded from the Games since July 16, after testing positive for a banned substance.
The 10-strong Syrian team has attracted considerable media attention during London 2012, less for its sporting achievements than for the bloody conflict raging at home between rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
CLOSING SHOW
Games chief Sebastian Coe declined to compare London with other Olympics, but said simply: "I'm pretty pleased with the way we've delivered."
"Party, party, party," he told a news briefing when asked to describe the closing concert later on Sunday.
Despite concerns about the creaky transport system and a shortfall of private security guards, which forced the government to call in thousands of extra troops to help screen visitors, the Games have so far passed by relatively trouble-free.
A furore over empty seats at several Olympic venues blew over, especially once the track and field showcase kicked in and drew in capacity crowds.
Even the weather improved as the Games wore on. Bright sunshine has graced the closing weekend of a festival that has helped to lift the gloom in recession-hit Britain.
Cameron has tried to use the Olympics to woo investment to Britain, hoping they would give the economy a much-needed boost, although some London businesses complained that warnings about overcrowding from the Games had driven customers away.
The Spice Girls, One Direction, George Michael and The Who are expected to perform in the closing ceremony as London prepares to bid goodbye to what The Guardian newspaper dubbed the "feelgood Games".
As well as a "hit list" of more than 30 popular songs, the closing ceremony will feature thousands of athletes and performing volunteers and a section devoted to the next summer Olympic hosts, Rio de Janeiro.
"I think it's a gift that we've got Rio next because their eight minutes is so wonderful and really full of that samba beat," artistic director Kim Gavin said of the 2016 hosts.
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