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"The basketball universe changed forever Wednesday night," read the Associated Press recap Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2002. " Argentina pulled off a victory that until recently was considered nearly impossible, defeating the United States 87-80 in the World Championships."
That second round contest at the 2002 World Championships not only proved to be the United States' first loss in 59 games — and the first since they began using NBA players in international tournaments 10 years prior — but was also the rallying cry for a basketball nation that would soon rise to international prominence.
"Manu has brought Argentina to the world and the world to Argentina's doorstep," Guillermo Vecchio, a former national team coach who led Argentina in the 1996 Olympics, said last summer in the Houston Chronicle. "Who has done more in basketball?" One of four Argentineans currently in the NBA, Ginobili was chosen as MVP of the Summer Olympics and averaged 19.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.38 steals over the competition. The following fall, Ginobili returned to the Spurs a changed man. He recorded career-high in points (16.0 ppg), rebounds (4.4 rpg), assists (3.9 apg), steals (1.61 spg) and field goal percentage (.471) for 2004-05 campaign, and at times carried the Championship team in the Finals, cementing his stardom in the NBA. "It really helped my confidence," said Ginobili during the Spurs' Finals run, "because once you feel like you are the Olympic champion and chosen MVP, you start believing even more in yourself, knowing that you've got to be doing something well. So, it (the season) was like a carry over from Athens." Ginobili isn't the only national team member who's made an impact on the NBA. Now in his second season with the Chicago Bulls, forward Andrés Nocioni is averaging 12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.65 blocks per game as a part-time starter in the Windy City. He has carved out a niche for himself as a hard-nosed defender and dependable standstill shooter. Detroit Pistons’ Carlos Delfino was selected in the first round (No. 25 overall) in the 2003 NBA Draft by Detroit. After a season with Skipper Bologna, Delfino joined the Pistons in 2004-05. The shooting guard has a current career average of 3.2 points per game in 94 contests. Pivot Fabricio Oberto, a member of the national team since 1995, signed with the San Antonio Spurs as a free agent on August 2, 2005. At 31 years of age, he is the league's oldest rookie this season. In recent years, national team members Ruben Wolkowyski and Juan “Pepe” Sanchez have also played in the NBA. Wolkowyski played for Seattle, Dallas and Boston while Sanchez competed for Atlanta, Philadelphia and Detroit. National team forward Luis Scola, whose draft rights are owned by the Spurs, is considered one of the best forwards in the Euroleague. Given his considerable skills, Scola is expected to play in the NBA soon. Drafted in the second round of the 2002 draft by Portland, forward Federico Kammerichs also could eventually compete in the NBA. Argentine players selected in the draft that never made it to the NBA include Marcelo Nicola (1993, 2nd round), Jorge Gonzalez (1988, 3rd round), Hernan Montenegro (1988, 3rd round).
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Argentina capped the tournament with an encouraging second-place finish, fueling momentum for its gold medal-winning performance two years later at the 2004 Olympics. Impressive since it was only the fourth Olympics the national team had ever competed in.
Because of that success, the land of the tango, gauchos and Diego Maradona today embraces basketball as one of its most popular sports. At the center of this fandom is national team hero and San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginóbili.
