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Manu with the slickness. And Nocioni didn't look too bad himself. How tall is he anyways? He looks like a solid player.
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/new...7468/arti.html
ARG/SER – Chapu, Gonzalez come up big as Argentina beat Serbia
NANJING (Olympics) – Argentina took a big step in the right direction in their Olympic preparations with an impressive second half to beat Serbia at the FIBA Diamond Ball.
Andres Nocioni provided a spark after the break by scoring seven of his 15 points for the game and the Argentinians pulled away for a 75-60 triumph that has put them into Friday’s final against Australia.
Argentina’s Manu Ginobili, a doubt for the Olympics just a month ago, had 18 points to lead all scorers.
“Argentina deserved this victory,” Serbia coach Dusan Ivkovic said.
“It was a great opportunity for my team to play against the defending Olympic champions.”
Serbia led by as many as six points in the first half but trailed 35-34 at the break after making just seven of their 16 free throws.
Nocioni, who also had a game-high eight rebounds, and Argentina then turned up the pressure on defense and held Serbia to just three points in the first five minutes of the third quarter to open up a 45-37 advantage.
With 10 minutes remaining, the lead had ballooned to 55-43 and Argentina went in front by as many as 17 points.
“At half-time, the players and the coach said we just needed to play better defense,” said veteran center Fabricio Oberto.
Oberto went to the bench with three fouls midway through the first quarter and was joined soon after by Luis Scola, who ended up fouling out at the end of the contest.
When Oberto returned to action in the second half, his defense and rebounding helped the Argentinians take control. He finished with 13 points and five rebounds.
The outstanding play of back-up center Roman Gonzalez saved Argentina in the first half.
The big left-hander came off the bench and proved a handful for Serbia, scoring 14 points.
The 30-year-old Gonzalez was virtually unstoppable, making four of six shots from the floor and six of seven at the line.
While Argentina and the other teams at the FIBA Diamond Ball are warming up for the Olympics, Ivkovic and his young team are preparing for EuroBasket 2009 qualifying games.
"We controlled the game in the opening half but this is only the fourth week we’ve been together,” he said.
“We have had a difficult schedule as this is our fifth game in six days. I tried to help my team by using the 12 players but it's difficult against an Argentina team that has many players who have played together for eight years.
"I think the main difference is the easy points which Argentina scored. They have great tandems with Ginobili and Scola and Oberto/Nocioni."
Novica Velickovic had all 11 of his points in the first half for Serbia but Branko Cvetkovic finished as the team’s top scorer with 13.
FIBA
Game highlights:
Manu with the slickness. And Nocioni didn't look too bad himself. How tall is he anyways? He looks like a solid player.
he sucked for the bulls last year
was decent the year before though
The commentators on Eurosport2 were saying that Nocioni is Argentinas best player.
true, Nocioni is the best right now
they where showing more Serb highlights as if they won
Manu looking good!
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