Argentina 2009
Any news on which players of the golden generation will stay and which talents will be added to the team?
"It's not about four guys working to get one player open and give the ball to him."- Ettore Messina
Sanchez, Ginobili, Basile, Kukoc, Sabonis
For this upcoming season, the only three players confirmed are Delfino, Nocioni and Scola. Quinteros is also expected to join them.
-Herrmann will possibly return, but maybe not this year.
-Ginóbili and Oberto will skip this season and come back for 2010, if they don't retire.
-Prigioni is a question mark, depending on his condition and need for rest (or so he said).
After that, no news. Maybe in a month or two.
Thanks for the info.
I was wondering whether they count on guys like Mainoldi, Porta etc or whether they are making the big cut and fill the roster with Gerbaudo, Nocedal and other players of this generation.
"It's not about four guys working to get one player open and give the ball to him."- Ettore Messina
Sanchez, Ginobili, Basile, Kukoc, Sabonis
I'm pretty sure Mainoldi, Porta and Juan Gutiérrez will be part of the squad, at least on a preliminary roster. Maximiliano Stanic could also be there.
About the younger ones, i don't think so, since coach Hernández isn't a big fan of placing youngsters just for the experience. There may be room for players from the 1984/1987 generation, like Matías Sandes, Luis Cequeira or Jonatan Treise, but don't expect much more than that.
You know, i so got the scoop. Delfino said his shoulder injury may keep him out of the ToA.Originally Posted by alermac
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/new...9690/arti.htmlARG – Scola hits the heights in NBA, will captain Argentina
BUENOS AIRES (FIBA Americas Championship) – Luis Scola will serve as captain for Argentina at the FIBA Americas Championship this summer in Mexico.
His country’s basketball confederation (CABB) confirmed over the weekend that the 6ft 9in power forward will both play for Argentina and lead the national side as they attempt to book a place in the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
The announcement will come as a surprise to no one with the 28-year-old Scola headed for NBA superstardom like fellow Argentinian Manu Ginobili of San Antonio.
In Sunday’s 87-85 win at San Antonio, Scola had 19 points and 17 rebounds. It was the 27th time this season that he achieved a double-double.
He capped off the magnificent performance against the Spurs by hitting the game-winning shot with just over 11 seconds remaining.
France’s Tony Parker had a chance to steal victory at the end but missed with a runner in the lane, and Scola grabbed the rebound.
Fans and media outside the NBA have known for a long time how special Scola is. His performances with Argentina in international basketball, and with TAU Ceramica in Spain’s ACB and the Euroleague, made him one of the sport’s biggest names.
A gold-medal winner with Argentina at the 2004 Olympics, Scola was the MVP of the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas after leading a depleted national squad to a silver-medal finish and into the Beijing Games.
After a strong rookie campaign in the NBA, Scola’s excellent play helped fire Argentina to a bronze medal in China.
Now, with the Rockets winning even more following the loss of McGrady to a season-ending injury, more and more people are beginning to appreciate the contributions of Scola and one-time Team USA role player Shane Battier.
One Houston Chronicle story paid tribute to Scola after Sunday’s win over San Antonio.
Columnist Fran Blinebury wrote: “It's Scola who has been the foundation from the very first day. It is his hustle, his determination, his professionalism, his perseverance that led to this stirring win on Sunday.
“Through all of the early season turmoil - the injuries, the lineup changes, the disappointing losses - Scola kept his head down and his energy up. And on Sunday afternoon it was fitting that he put the Rockets over the top in their biggest win of the season, maybe their biggest win of several seasons.”
Spurs fans are certainly regretting the club’s decision to trade Scola’s rights to Houston before the 2007-08 campaign, which paved the way for his move to the NBA from TAU Ceramica in Spain.
He is averaging 12.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season.
His Rockets teammate Brent Barry rubbed salt in the wound for San Antonio – a team he played for the previous four years before joining Houston last summer.
After Sunday’s game, veteran Barry called Scola the best power forward in the NBA since the All-Star Weekend in Phoenix.
“Think they could use this guy back here?” Barry said, grinning.
Meanwhile, the two Argentina national team players with the Spurs, Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto, did not figure in Sunday’s game against Scola and the Rockets.
Ginobili is out of action with a sore ankle while Oberto played just one minute.
Another national team star, Carlos Delfino, has recovered from a right shoulder and is playing with BC Khimki again in Russia’s Superleague.
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht
Artificial Nature
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/new...9712/arti.htmlARG - Quinteros has unfinished business with Argentina national team
ZARAGOZA (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Paolo Quinteros achieved his greatest moment with Argentina at last summer’s Olympics in China by playing a vital role in the national team’s bronze-medal win over Lithuania.
The shooting guard hopes he can wear the Argentina shirt again.
In fact, he admits to having a burning desire to represent his country at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
“Regarding the FIBA World Championship, this is a personal aim of mine, a great objective for me,” Quinteros said.
“I would like to take part as I have never played in that competition. It would be a dream come true to play in it and more so, to reach the podium."
Quinteros turned 30 on January 15.
A 1.88m shooting guard, he has gained a lot more exposure since playing for Argentina at the Olympics.
He travelled to China as a reserve, but knew full well that he could be pressed into action if the injury bug struck Manu Ginobili, whose fitness was in question up to the start of the tournament.
Ginobili played big minutes but went down with an ankle injury in the second quarter of Argentina’s semi-final with Team USA.
That forced Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez’s hand. He called on a player he once coached at Boca Juniors, Quinteros, and was richly rewarded.
In 15 important minutes of the bronze-medal game, Quinteros drilled three of four shots from three-point range and scored 11 points.
One of his three-balls capped a 9-0 run in the second quarter that saw Argentina turn a 27-26 deficit into a 34-27 lead.
They stayed on top for the rest of the game.
The confidence from his Olympic experience has helped Quinteros in his first-ever campaign in Spain’s ACB with CAI Zaragoza.
He is averaging an eye-popping 18.4 points per game.
"Considering it's my debut season in the ACB, I am extremely happy to have adapted to this competition,” he said.
“Our aim is to defend our ACB status and I'm sure we will achieve this because we have a great team.”
Quinteros wants to make one thing clear to everyone.
Nothing has come easy for him in his career, he says.
“I am very proud of what I am achieving but I know this is the product of years of hard work,” he said.
“I never feared challenges. I want to continue to surpass goals.”
Some of those involve Argentina.
“I am always ready to play for the Argentina national team,” he said.
“As long as my body allows me to, I would like to respond to the call-ups. This has been a difficult year because I didn't stop to take a break and you notice it.
“I had little time to rest and if you consider that I'm playing an average of 30 minutes, you notice it.
“Once the league ends, I will take a breather and recover my strength. If Sergio Hernandez calls me for the FIBA Americas Championship, I will be ready.”
As for his club future, Quinteros said on the Argentina Basketball Confederation website that he would prefer to remain in Zaragoza.
The club is 13th in the 17-team ACB with eight victories and 17 defeats.
“I would like to remain at Zaragoza although my contract ends,” Quinteros said.
“I will listen to offers. Zaragoza is a nice city and I live well here.
“The truth is that I wouldn't like to leave.”
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht
Artificial Nature
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/new...9766/arti.htmlARG – Argentina’s Fernandez follows in footsteps of Lobito and Pepe Sanchez
BUENOS AIRES (CABB) – "What next?"
That’s what everyone outside Buenos Aires has been asking about Argentina’s ageing national team for a few years.
Luis Scola, Carlos Delfino, Andres Nocioni and Pablo Prigioni are still around but Athens 2004 gold-medal winners Ruben Wolkowyski, Alejandro Montecchia and Pepe Sanchez are gone while Fabricio Oberto and Manu Ginbobili are on the wrong side of 30.
The answer about the future, or at least part of it, is found in the American basketball hotbed of Philadelphia where Juan Manuel Fernandez, the son of legendary Argentina guard Gustavo "Lobito" Fernandez, played college basketball for Temple University this year as a freshman.
"I chose Temple with the idea that I feel it's an investment in the future," Fernandez said.
Many of Fernandez’s friends are playing basketball for a club but he decided to take the same route that Sanchez took over a decade ago by playing for the Owls.
"Had I gone to a club and signed a contract, I would have earned money," he said.
"But the way I see it is that it's more difficult for a youngster to have minutes in the first team because there are professional players in the team, great players that compete for your place, or there are coaches that are under pressure to win and many times they don't risk giving minutes to the youngsters.
"At the university we are all in the same boat but if you work very hard, you know you will get minutes.
"I spoke to my father and he told me that a player in reality, although there are exceptions, turns pro usually at 21 or 22, and that is the age when I will finish my career at Temple.
"If you are able after four years to come out with a degree, it’s all the better because it is something my parents wanted even if I'm playing (club) basketball."
There have been numerous comparisons to Sanchez. Fernandez is a 6ft 4in guard, the same position of the Barcelona star.
"It makes me proud," Fernandez said, when asked what it was like to be mentioned in the same breath with Sanchez.
"I have been a Pepe admirer since I was young and to be linked with him is madness. I know I have a lot to improve on and I take those comparisons as a motivation to continue to train hard."
At Temple, it’s as if the arrival of Fernandez is the second coming of Sanchez.
"When I got here, wearing the number 4 jersey, I knew that comparisons were going to be made because we hail from the same country, we are both guards and the number of our jersey is the same," Fernandez said.
Fernandez has already represented his country by playing at the PanAmerican U18 Championship with Argentina and winning the title.
"I will never forget it because of the players and the team that we had," he said.
"There was a lot of human quality in that team. We were friends on and off the court, something that’s not easy when you don't see each other that much.
"To have beaten United States was the perfect final.
"But I also know that none of us have settled just for that and those that have a chance to go to the (FIBA U19) World Championship in New Zealand, whether I'm there or not, will fight for the medals without a doubt."
To represent his country is something that is almost sacred in Argentina.
"It means a lot," Fernandez admitted.
"I think for an Argentina player to put that jersey on is the best feeling ever. You know that on the court the whole country is supporting you.
"To feel that support is something that cannot be explained. The fact that I can experience that makes me someone privileged."
One day, Fernandez may get the call to play for Argentina. He could, perhaps, play for an Argentina team that attempts to reach the podium at the 2012 Olympics in London just as his compatriots did five years ago in Greece.
Playing for the senior team is something that he dreams about.
"Each day," he said.
"I know it can't be easy to play for the senior team, especially after what this group has achieved. I think the place left open by Pepe (Sanchez) is going to be very difficult to fill.
"It would be a great honor for me to have a chance to play for the senior national team in the future. There are many good guards but I think I could battle for a place one day."
Fernandez’s dad
Fernandez’s father has been instrumental in his son’s career.
"He loves playing coach with me and that helps me a lot," Fernandez said. "My father played for 15 years in the league (Argentinian) and he won five titles.
"It's better to listen to the advice of someone that has that experience and that on top of it, he is my father."
Fernandez says he has a lot to work on if he is to help safeguard Argentina’s proud history in the sport.
"I need to improve on defense, which is something that I find hardest on the court," he said on Argentina’s Basketball Confederation website.
"I see myself as someone who will have to work extremely hard in practice during these years at Temple in order to become a professional in the future."
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht
Artificial Nature
Fernández has quickly positioned himself as the most promising player in a generation of very promising prospects, such as Nocedal or Orlietti, especially since last year's win over the US at the U-19.
But these kids probably won't be a part of the NT until a couple years from now. Doesn't happen since Scola in 1999, and then it only was because of the massive simultaneous refusals of important players.
Walter Herrmann has finally confirmed it: he's gone for good.
Nocioni told, in press conference, that his presence in this year's NT roster is doubtful. The problem resides on his knees, as usual. But he also said there's no way he'll miss 2010 and 2012.
I thought I read that he would be playing this summer even if his leg was broken? Did I miss something?
"I really like the attitudes of eagles. They never give up. When they grab a fish or something else, they never let it go. It doesn't matter. In a book, they write they find a skeleton of [an] eagle and there is no fish. It means that the fish beat him and killed him, but he didn't let go." -- Donatas Motiejunas
I think he said so a few months ago. But yo know, words are gone with the wind
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/new...9952/arti.htmlARG – Nocioni uncertain for Mexico but definite for Turkey
BUENOS AIRES (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Andres Nocioni may not plat at the FIBA Americas Championship this summer in Mexico but there’s no doubt about his availability for Argentina if they qualify for next year's FIBA World Championship in Turkey.
A gold-medal winner at the 2004 Olympics, Nocioni played with pain caused by a knee injury and helped Argentina win a bronze at the Beijing Games last year.
"I am going to see the doctors and then take a decision," the 29-year-old said, when asked about the FIBA Americas Championship.
"I don’t know what to do. At this age, I can't be in everything and I have to think about the future. If you want to go every time, it might hurt you and the team.
"I will play in the FIBA World Championship. I think I have four of five years left in the national team."
"I will also be at the 2012 Olympics, even without knees,” he said, jokingly.
Nocioni, speaking to Argentina newspaper Clarin, marvels at the way veteran guard Juan Espil, a former Argentina international, continues to play at the age of 41.
Espil helped club side Boca Juniors reach the Quarter-Finals of this year’s Liga Nacional.
"I just want to die after I see Juan Espil play like that at 41," Nocioni said.
"He is very aesthetic, his shooting is effortless. I can't play at that age because everything costs me more. Since the age of 22, I've had tendinitis but I played through it. Now at 29, it's not the same."
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht
Artificial Nature
Just for curiosity: does anyone know if Idaho junior guard Mac Hopson (born in Argentina, according to official sites) would be eligible to play for the NT?
Can't say I blame anyone for skipping the tournament of the americas, honestly even with their C team Argentina could finish in the top 4. Even if they didn't there's no way FIBA wouldn't make them a wild card team for the World Championships.
Pistons 2011-2012
Current Mood: Just happy they're back.
I spoke with Carlos Delfino last night and he said still don´t know if will play the Copa América.
the full interview that i made with him, you can see here: (in portuguese)
http://www.draftbrasil.net/wordpress/?p=1288
Good stuff Draft Brasil. Welcome here btw
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht
Artificial Nature
thanks a lot....Good stuff Draft Brasil. Welcome here btw
there are any adress that we can chat in portuguese?
You mean here? I'm afraid not, this is an English speaking forum only, so we call can understand eachother
Die Liebe wird eine Krankheit, wenn man sie als eine Heilung sieht
Artificial Nature
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