NBA: Argentine teammates wonder, 'What if?'

Mike Monroe
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...n.36058b2.html


AUSTIN - Composure under pressure: One of the traits that makes Manu Ginobili one of the Spurs' go-to players in end-game situations.
He never gets nervous.

But Ginobili admits to being plenty tense during a game on Sept. 1, only because he was not playing in it.

The Spurs guard from Bahia Blanca, Argentina, opted not to play for his national team in the FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas. So he watched Brazil take a 43-31 halftime lead over his national team in a game that would determine whether Argentina would qualify to defend its 2004 Olympic gold medal. Sitting at home was torture.

A loss would have meant another qualifying tournament next July, with a single remaining berth in the Olympic tournament. Committed to rejoin his team next summer, Ginobili watched with bated breath.

Ginobili's friend, Luis Scola, ended his worry by leading an Argentine rally that resulted in a 93-81 victory and a guaranteed trip to Beijing. Scola, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound power forward, finished with 27 points and was named tournament MVP.

"I was so relieved," Ginobili said, "not only because I'm not going to have to play (in a qualifier) in July, but I was also so pleased for the way they played. They were just amazing. They made me feel really proud."

"Well, he should be relieved," Scola said with a laugh after a three-hour training camp session with the Houston Rockets at the University of Texas' Cooley Center. "He should be enjoying his vacation."

Ginobili, Scola and Spurs center Fabricio Oberto have been the core of Argentina's national team for most of the past decade. Since Oberto signed on with the Spurs in the summer of 2005, the three had been awaiting a reunion in San Antonio. The Spurs held Scola's NBA rights since selecting him in the second round of the 2002 draft.

Signing Scola, though, was not as easy as negotiating a suitable contract. There was a hefty buyout clause to free him from his deal with Spanish team Tau Ceramica. Ultimately, the Spurs traded his rights to the Rockets, essentially for salary cap relief. Center Jackie Butler also went to Houston in the deal, and the Spurs bought out the contract of Greek guard Vasily Spanoulis, whom they received from the Rockets.

Both Scola and Ginobili were disappointed, but not bitter.

"Yes, of course I was disappointed," Ginobili said. "He's a great friend. I respect him a lot inside the court, too. So it kind of hurts that we had his rights and couldn't find a spot for him.

"But if you're not selfish and look at it from the outside, I think he got a better environment to develop in Houston than here, because playing the power forward, here you have got the best in the league. There, they had not so many. So I think he found a great city and a great team for him to develop. And we are not so far, so we will see each other a lot."

Scola was adamant that he bears no ill will toward the Spurs.

"No, no, no, no," he said. "And you can put that in capital letters. Eventually, I am thankful, because they gave me the chance. At the end of the day, they made the trade and gave me this opportunity to play here. I couldn't be here if they didn't trade me. So I'm thankful to them, definitely not angry."

Scola will, however, wonder what could have been in San Antonio.

"Obviously, I would have loved to play with Manu," he said. "He's my friend. But we will have a chance to play again on the national team. But playing with Duncan, Fabricio, Tony Parker, and be part of all those rings they won would have been just unbelievable for me."

Playing behind Duncan, Scola said, would have been no problem.

"If I could have played the 10 minutes he would have left me it would have been just lovely," Scola said. "I just can't imagine how much I could have learned playing day by day beside him and defending him in practice every day."

Now Scola is competing for the Rockets' starting power forward spot with Chuck Hayes and looks forward to playing on the front line with Yao Ming. His new coach, Rick Adelman, loves his competitiveness and passing skill. And Tracy McGrady, the Rockets' offensive leader, made him a promise.

"If he gives the ball to me, don't go away from me," McGrady said. "Come set a screen and roll. I told him, 'I'll get you the easiest basket you've ever had in your life.'" Whether McGrady can set up Scola as well as Ginobili would have will be a matter of conjecture debated for years, both in San Antonio and Argentina.