Facing Gilas Pilipinas – Argentina

The 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball is closing in. After 36 years, a Filipino team is once again among the teams participating, and Pinoy hoop nuts the world over eagerly await how Gilas Pililipinas will fare against the world’s best basketball talents.

In this five-part series, we will give a preview of what to expect from each team Gilas will face in Group B. In this particular post, we’ll focus on a FIBA Americas squad that may be seeing the twilight of its golden era – Argentina.

Argentina

The most glaring absence from Argentina’s roster is San Antonio Spur Manu Ginobili, who has practically retired from international basketball. That’s a big blow, of course, since Ginobili has been the most prominent player of this country’s “golden generation” of hoopsters. Beyond the skill-set he brings, it is Manu’s leadership and grit that will be missed.

Still, there is more than enough on coach Julio Lamas’ lineup to top Group C and challenge in the next few rounds. Without a doubt, Luis Scola will be this team’s best offensive option, but the 34-year old might also be on the tailend of his playing days for Los Condores. He averaged around 19 points and 7 rebounds in the 2013 FIBA Americas, but he should enjoy a bit more slack this time around as veterans Andres Nocioni, Walter Herrmann, and Pablo Prigioni have returned to the national team.

Those three ultra-veterans (average age is 35) won’t really take over games, but their experience and poise at this level will be invaluable.

On the other end of the spectrum, a few young guns to watch are Facundo Campazzo, Nicolas Laprovittola, and Selem Safar. These young guards will learn a lot from Prigioni and will get more playing time in Manu’s absence.

Campazzo, in particular, is the one to really keep tabs on. The 23-year-old guard is touted as Argentina’s future superstar. He just signed with Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid and should make a lot more noise in the 2014-2015 season. He’s a great all-around PG, able to score from anywhere and find his teammates in easy spots.

Laprovittola and Safar, meanwhile, are great shooters. They combined to hit about 45% of their threes in the 2013 FIBA Americas and should remain deadly snipers in Spain.

Carlos Delfino, without a doubt, would have given Argentina a huge lift, but he is still recovering from a foot surgery he had late in 2013.

How does Gilas match up?

Size-wise, Argentina doesn’t hold much of an edge, at least in terms of the frontline. A starting frontcourt of Andray Blatche and Japeth Aguilar will actually be a little bigger than the projected starters for Argentina – Luis Scola and Leo Gutierrez/Andres Nocioni. Still, in terms of pure skill and team play, the Argentines are nonpareil. Scola is one of the best low block players in the World Cup and Nocioni can spread the floor quite well.

Gilas will have a bit of an advantage on Argentina in terms of speed. Jayson Castro (provided he’s recovering at a good rate), LA Tenorio, and Paul Lee are going to be our main catalysts on offense, and they should keep Campazzo and Prigioni on their toes on defense.

It goes without saying that Dray should have another strong game here. If he can negate the potential double-double contributions of Scola, then that will boost our chances of a monumental upset. Maybe a 25-12 game?

Herrmann, Nocioni, and a couple of other guys on the Argentine squad can shoot the lights out, so our own snipers need to be on-target, too. By and large, this is going to be a really tough test for Gilas, but it will definitely give the team invaluable experience.

– Rappler.com