Sorry if posted already.
22/08/2006 ARG - Manu Ginobili: "Our only goal is to win the championship”
SENDAI (FIBA World Championship) - Manu Ginobili led Argentina to an Olympic gold medal in Athens in the summer of 2004 - and was named the tournament's best player - before helping Tim Duncan and Tony Parker lead the San Antonio Spurs to their third NBA championship in June 2005.
Quite a successful year by any standard.
However this past year has not been as kind to Ginobili, who has been slowed down by injuries and the Spurs were unable to defend their le.
But "El Manu" is now back to full fitness and ready to take the challenge of leading Argentina to victory in the FIBA World Championship.
So far so good for Ginobili and his team-mates as they won their first three games to top Group A and secure a berth for the knockout stages.
FIBA's correspondent Simon Wilkinson caught up with him after their win over Venezuela.
FIBA: You've won the first three group games quite comfortably. Your team-mate Fabricio Oberto said the day before the tournament started that the team wasn't a 100 per cent yet. Are you there now?
Ginobili: Yes I think that these first three games have really helped us get to where we want to be as a team as we look ahead to the next round of the compe ion. We had a tough opener against France but we were able to hold on and win that game and we've played as well as we can against Lebanon and Venezuela.
FIBA: Your bench players have contributed immensely in the last two games. It must be good to see them do so well and be able to rest.
Ginobili: Yeah everyone has played very well so far but we're not surprised by it. We have one of the deepest if not the deepest teams in the tournament and we know that anyone of those guys can come in and make a good contribution.
FIBA: Walter Herrmann has been on fire in the last two games, coming off the bench to lead the team in scoring on both occasions. Has he surprised you with those performances?
Ginobili: It doesn't surprise me because I've seen Walter do it before. He has been great for us. He gives us a scoring punch when he comes in the game and I hope he can keep it up.
FIBA: Your last two games are against Nigeria and Serbia & Montenegro who have had mixed performances so far. How do you feel about those teams?
Ginobili: Well Nigeria had an impressive win over Serbia & Montenegro in the first game so they can be very dangerous. As for Serbia & Montenegro themselves, they're rebuilding the team with young players so they lack a bit of experience but they make up for it with their determination and passion. So we won't underestimate either of those teams.
FIBA: Obviously your goal over the next few days is to top the group so that you can have a relatively easy second round match. Do you look that far ahead or are you still going game by game?
Ginobili: We're looking ahead a bit but without letting it take the focus away from the next two games. Of course we want to top the group but there is a much bigger goal, which is to win the championship. That's our motivation.
FIBA: Luis Scola had a very effective game against Venezuela, scoring 18 points in 17 minutes. How does he play so efficiently?
Ginobili: Luis is a very unique player. He has his own style of game that is hard to describe but even harder to defend. He has a very nice touch and he can also run well so he is not your typical power-forward. And we were able to get him going early against a Venezuela side that doesn't have too many big power-forwards. But it's good to see him play this well. He is very important to our success.
FIBA: The other four starters and yourself have been able to play limited minutes in the last two games. How important is that to get some rest in the group games ahead of the knockout stages?
Ginobili: It's really huge and a good luxury to have if you can keep your minutes down and be fresh as you go into the next phase of the compe ion because you don't know what team you will play against then and how tough that game will be.
FIBA: Your last two wins have been by great margins. Do you think it can be dangerous at this early stage of the compe ion to win that easily?
Ginobili: I think that winning by big margins is great for our confidence. But it's true that you have to be careful and not expect it to be like this in our last two group games. Against Lebanon and Venezuela we were just able to get everything working perfectly. That won't happen in every game. We'll just keep playing the best we can.
Linky
no that was not the most disappointing thing Manu. that foul on Dirk in the 7th game WC finals wasHowever this past year has not been as kind to Ginobili, who has been slowed down by injuries and the Spurs were unable to defend their le.
good luck Manu!
the Spurs were unable to defend their lewhat's the difference? manu doesn't make the foul and the spurs advance.no that was not the most disappointing thing Manu. that foul on Dirk in the 7th game WC finals was
good luck Manu!
i expect argentina to be usa (and win the WC le). if the usa team played together as long as argentina has, it would be no contest, usa wins. but i think team usa will not gel enough, the role players are missing again, and the tournament is single elimination.
Thanks for posting.
I am excited for Gino. I wish him and Fabri and their team much success.
o i jus saw fabri getting dunked on by a nigerian playa ibekwe or smth
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