Well, not exactly, but Argentina's plethora of skilled basketball players have infiltrated the National Basketball Association (NBA) and are holding their own. The most famous of these is Manu Ginobili (first picture), who plays shooting guard for the San Antonio Spurs. Ginobili, who hails from Bahía Blanca, has helped the Spurs win two NBA titles. Manu's teammate and fellow Argentine, Fabricio Oberto (from Córdoba), also contributes to the Spurs on a consistent basis. Fellow Argentine national team players Carlos Delfino (second picture) and Andrés Nocioni (both from Santa Fe) provide quality minutes for their teams, the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons, respectively.
While Argentina is highly regarded for its passion for soccer, basketball's popularity is on the rise. Not only have more players entered the NBA, but Argentina's national team won the gold medal (in both basketball and soccer) at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Soccer remains the sport of choice, but basketball's growing influence around the world has not been able to dodge Argentina.
1 comment:
Clever headlines! It looks great so far.
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