ducks
07-24-2006, 10:30 PM
Nocioni, Argentina not looking for revenge, just victory
July 24, 2006
MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (Ticker) - Andres Nocioni said Argentina is not looking for revenge against Serbia & Montenegro in next month's World Basketball Championships. In fact, he doesn't even consider the defending champions the strongest team in its group.
The rising star forward of the Chicago Bulls said his compatriots are not overconfident, despite a silver medal in the 2002 World Championships and a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics. He also took somewhat of a slap at the Serbians, who have had their problems on the international stage of late.
"There will be no easy opponents and we mustn't think that we'll win only with our name," Nocioni told Clarin newspaper. "Most of the teams will want to beat us and we have to be careful.
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"In our group, France will be the strongest, because of their NBA-based players. Our goal will be to win the group and wait for the knockout ties."
In the 24-team tournament, Argentina is in Group A with Serbia & Montenegro, France, Venezuela, Nigeria and Lebanon. It is considered the strongest of the four groups, with France, Serbia & Montenegro and Argentina loaded with NBA players.
In both the 2004 Olympics and 2005 Eurobasket, the Serbians failed to advance out of group play despite a talented roster filled with NBA players.
In 2002, Argentina lost to Serbia & Montenegro in overtime in the title game. The Argentines played without star guard Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs, who suffered a sprained ankle in the previous game.
"I don't think we need payback because we lost that final and that's all," Nocioni said. "We don't have to think in the past, but in the future."
The future includes a new coach in Sergio Hernandez, who was an assistant to Ruben Magnano on the 2004 Olympic team. Earlier this year, Hernandez blasted the player selection process of Team USA, which lost to Argentina in both the 2002 and 2004 tournaments.
"It will be the first time for most of us to be trained by Sergio," Nocioni said. "I don't think we'll have problems to get used to his system."
Nocioni should feel confident in that regard because players such as himself, Ginobili, Spurs forward Fabricio Oberto and European forward Luis Scola again will be on the roster.
"This group has been together for a long time and have a union and a chemistry which are very difficult to find in other teams," Nocioni said. "We have to profit from it and discover ourselves on the court. I've missed this group a lot. The relationship between us is very good. This is a group of friends who get together again."
The Argentines will get a feel of whether the chemistry is still there Friday, when they play an exhibition game against Venezuela.
"This is a wonderful group who always did their best," Nocioni said. "I hope this year is not an exception and this group can demonstrate once more they are big (in heart) and determined to achieve everything."
July 24, 2006
MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (Ticker) - Andres Nocioni said Argentina is not looking for revenge against Serbia & Montenegro in next month's World Basketball Championships. In fact, he doesn't even consider the defending champions the strongest team in its group.
The rising star forward of the Chicago Bulls said his compatriots are not overconfident, despite a silver medal in the 2002 World Championships and a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics. He also took somewhat of a slap at the Serbians, who have had their problems on the international stage of late.
"There will be no easy opponents and we mustn't think that we'll win only with our name," Nocioni told Clarin newspaper. "Most of the teams will want to beat us and we have to be careful.
ADVERTISEMENT
"In our group, France will be the strongest, because of their NBA-based players. Our goal will be to win the group and wait for the knockout ties."
In the 24-team tournament, Argentina is in Group A with Serbia & Montenegro, France, Venezuela, Nigeria and Lebanon. It is considered the strongest of the four groups, with France, Serbia & Montenegro and Argentina loaded with NBA players.
In both the 2004 Olympics and 2005 Eurobasket, the Serbians failed to advance out of group play despite a talented roster filled with NBA players.
In 2002, Argentina lost to Serbia & Montenegro in overtime in the title game. The Argentines played without star guard Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs, who suffered a sprained ankle in the previous game.
"I don't think we need payback because we lost that final and that's all," Nocioni said. "We don't have to think in the past, but in the future."
The future includes a new coach in Sergio Hernandez, who was an assistant to Ruben Magnano on the 2004 Olympic team. Earlier this year, Hernandez blasted the player selection process of Team USA, which lost to Argentina in both the 2002 and 2004 tournaments.
"It will be the first time for most of us to be trained by Sergio," Nocioni said. "I don't think we'll have problems to get used to his system."
Nocioni should feel confident in that regard because players such as himself, Ginobili, Spurs forward Fabricio Oberto and European forward Luis Scola again will be on the roster.
"This group has been together for a long time and have a union and a chemistry which are very difficult to find in other teams," Nocioni said. "We have to profit from it and discover ourselves on the court. I've missed this group a lot. The relationship between us is very good. This is a group of friends who get together again."
The Argentines will get a feel of whether the chemistry is still there Friday, when they play an exhibition game against Venezuela.
"This is a wonderful group who always did their best," Nocioni said. "I hope this year is not an exception and this group can demonstrate once more they are big (in heart) and determined to achieve everything."