tinysands
11-06-2007, 12:27 AM
SPURS: Ginobili, Oberto set to face Rockets countryman Scola
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA110607.Spurs-1106.en.31e71a9.html
Web Posted: 11/05/2007 10:36 PM CST
Jeff McDonald
Express-News Staff Writer
HOUSTON — One sunny Sunday in September, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili invited a longtime personal friend and soon-to-be basketball foe to his house for a barbecue.
Tired of subsisting on a diet of room service in his new NBA hometown of Houston, Luis Scola was happy to accept.
Ginobili's Spurs teammate Fabricio Oberto came too, and the three Argentine amigos spent the day laughing and eating and rekindling old times. As lunch gave way to dinner, necessitating the delivery of a second meal of Italian food, talk soon turned to basketball.
For Scola, what had begun as a laid-back respite from his first week as a Houston Rocket quickly became a two-on-one break in favor of the Spurs.
"We told him we were going to beat them this year," Ginobili said, "and get back to the Finals."
"It was very friendly," Ginobili is quick to add. "No bets. Nothing serious."
The serious part comes tonight when the Spurs meet Scola, their prodigal draft pick, and his new team, the Rockets. The game at the Toyota Center marks the first regular-season meeting between the two teams since the summertime trade that sent Scola's rights to Houston and caused much consternation among Spurs faithful.
The worry: If Scola — a 6-foot-9 power forward with all the quit of the Energizer bunny — is able to imbue Houston with the same tenacity and toughness he once lent to the Argentine national team, all bets are off in the already top-heavy Southwest Division.
"He's got a huge heart, great energy, basketball savvy," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the 27-year-old Rockets rookie. "He adds a real winner to their program."
Friends since they were teenagers, Scola, Ginobili and Oberto formed the core of the 2004 team from Argentina that won gold at the Athens Olympics. There was a time when the two Spurs thought they might one day wind up reunited with Scola.
Scola was the Spurs' first-round pick in 2002. The team worked for five years to sign him, the sticking point being a substantial buyout from his Euroleague club.
Negotiations between the two parties were at times acrimonious, with Scola's agent at one point declaring that, "in the land of liberty," his client was "being held hostage."
In July, the Spurs finally surrendered the Scola war, swapping him to Houston along with Jackie Butler in a deal that got them salary cap and roster space, but little else, in return.
Through it all, Scola remained conspicuously above the fray. He says he holds no hard feelings against the Spurs.
"It just didn't work out," said Scola, who averaged 5.0 points and 6.7 rebounds off the bench in Houston's first three games. "I am with the Rockets, and I am pretty happy with it. Now I am going to enjoy playing here."
Much like the Spurs' own pair of Argentines, Scola possesses a set of skills that doesn't always manifest itself on the ESPN highlight reels.
Such was evident last month, when the Rockets visited San Antonio for a preseason game.
Scola wasn't flashy in the Spurs' 99-92 victory. He wasn't dominant. Yet he ended with 14 points and 10 rebounds, by far one of the Rockets' most effective players.
"I expect him to be tough and to play hard, because that's what he does," Ginobili said. "In the long run, he is going to help the Rockets, for sure."
As such, Spurs officials would have preferred to have not dealt Scola to a division rival. They hope the trade will not one day come back to bite them.
Ironically, the Rockets feel the same way.
The deal allowed the Spurs to re-sign key pieces of last year's NBA title team and, possibly, to sign this year's first-round draft pick, Tiago Splitter, next summer.
"We were real reluctant to make the deal, too, for all the room it creates for them," Houston general manager Daryl Morey said. "But we had a real need and felt like Luis was the best guy out there we could get."
Ginobili and Oberto readily agree with that assessment.
Tonight, they are just hoping their longtime friend turned NBA enemy doesn't go out of his way to prove it.
"We wish him well," Oberto said, "but we want to win."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA110607.Spurs-1106.en.31e71a9.html
Web Posted: 11/05/2007 10:36 PM CST
Jeff McDonald
Express-News Staff Writer
HOUSTON — One sunny Sunday in September, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili invited a longtime personal friend and soon-to-be basketball foe to his house for a barbecue.
Tired of subsisting on a diet of room service in his new NBA hometown of Houston, Luis Scola was happy to accept.
Ginobili's Spurs teammate Fabricio Oberto came too, and the three Argentine amigos spent the day laughing and eating and rekindling old times. As lunch gave way to dinner, necessitating the delivery of a second meal of Italian food, talk soon turned to basketball.
For Scola, what had begun as a laid-back respite from his first week as a Houston Rocket quickly became a two-on-one break in favor of the Spurs.
"We told him we were going to beat them this year," Ginobili said, "and get back to the Finals."
"It was very friendly," Ginobili is quick to add. "No bets. Nothing serious."
The serious part comes tonight when the Spurs meet Scola, their prodigal draft pick, and his new team, the Rockets. The game at the Toyota Center marks the first regular-season meeting between the two teams since the summertime trade that sent Scola's rights to Houston and caused much consternation among Spurs faithful.
The worry: If Scola — a 6-foot-9 power forward with all the quit of the Energizer bunny — is able to imbue Houston with the same tenacity and toughness he once lent to the Argentine national team, all bets are off in the already top-heavy Southwest Division.
"He's got a huge heart, great energy, basketball savvy," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the 27-year-old Rockets rookie. "He adds a real winner to their program."
Friends since they were teenagers, Scola, Ginobili and Oberto formed the core of the 2004 team from Argentina that won gold at the Athens Olympics. There was a time when the two Spurs thought they might one day wind up reunited with Scola.
Scola was the Spurs' first-round pick in 2002. The team worked for five years to sign him, the sticking point being a substantial buyout from his Euroleague club.
Negotiations between the two parties were at times acrimonious, with Scola's agent at one point declaring that, "in the land of liberty," his client was "being held hostage."
In July, the Spurs finally surrendered the Scola war, swapping him to Houston along with Jackie Butler in a deal that got them salary cap and roster space, but little else, in return.
Through it all, Scola remained conspicuously above the fray. He says he holds no hard feelings against the Spurs.
"It just didn't work out," said Scola, who averaged 5.0 points and 6.7 rebounds off the bench in Houston's first three games. "I am with the Rockets, and I am pretty happy with it. Now I am going to enjoy playing here."
Much like the Spurs' own pair of Argentines, Scola possesses a set of skills that doesn't always manifest itself on the ESPN highlight reels.
Such was evident last month, when the Rockets visited San Antonio for a preseason game.
Scola wasn't flashy in the Spurs' 99-92 victory. He wasn't dominant. Yet he ended with 14 points and 10 rebounds, by far one of the Rockets' most effective players.
"I expect him to be tough and to play hard, because that's what he does," Ginobili said. "In the long run, he is going to help the Rockets, for sure."
As such, Spurs officials would have preferred to have not dealt Scola to a division rival. They hope the trade will not one day come back to bite them.
Ironically, the Rockets feel the same way.
The deal allowed the Spurs to re-sign key pieces of last year's NBA title team and, possibly, to sign this year's first-round draft pick, Tiago Splitter, next summer.
"We were real reluctant to make the deal, too, for all the room it creates for them," Houston general manager Daryl Morey said. "But we had a real need and felt like Luis was the best guy out there we could get."
Ginobili and Oberto readily agree with that assessment.
Tonight, they are just hoping their longtime friend turned NBA enemy doesn't go out of his way to prove it.
"We wish him well," Oberto said, "but we want to win."