Luis Scola fell out of the NBA two years ago as he edged closer to his 40s. This was unremarkable: older players move on every summer, and Scola had a lot of mileage — both in the NBA and in European leagues before he leaped the Atlantic. After a 36-game stint with the Brooklyn Nets in 2016-17, his stateside career was over. Scola spent the two years since collecting checks in the Chinese Basketball Association, a decision he once described as being about giving his kids an opportunity to experience living in yet another culture. (Luis Scola: cool dad.)
And, oh yeah, Scola also stay committed to the Argentina national team and is in line to be named the MVP of the 2019 FIBA World Cup at age 39, possibly whether or not his team wins the gold medal on Sunday.
Scola’s Argentines — with nary an NBA player on the roster — will face Marc Gasol and Spain on Sunday in the tournament final (8 a.m. ET, ESPN+).
Argentina is a shocker to make the final given the nation’s Golden Generation, led by Manu Ginobili and Scola, had gotten old. All but Scola retired from national team play. Gone were Carlos Delfino, Andres Nocioni, Pablo Prigioni, Fabricio Oberto, and Walter Hermann. Argentina’s coach tried to pay respect to the Golden Generation before this tournament while making clear this was a completely different squad with completely different expectations. As it turns out, the single holdover for the cadre of players who won the 2004 Olympic gold has meshed beautifully with the younger generation and has Argentina on the verge of winning its first world title since 1950.
Scola remains bruisingly good in this element, and the non-NBA guards and wings on the Argentine roster play an aggressive, long-range style reminiscent of their forebears. Facundo Campazzo is a revelation at the point, and the team’s shooting destroyed tournament titan Serbia in the quarterfinals. It took defense and Scola’s crafty scoring to beat France in the semifinals. It should take a combination of both to beat Spain on Sunday.
Spain did bring four NBA players to the World Cup, but the brightness had dimmed on most of its star players. Gasol leads the way, coming off of his vital role in claiming an NBA championship for the Toronto Raptors. He’s joined by Spanish team mainstay Ricky Rubio and the Hernangomez brothers. Pau Gasol is recovering from injury and darn near 40 years old. Marc’s Toronto teammate Serge Ibaka sat the tournament out. Juan Carlos Navarro didn’t play. Everyone from the teams that have pushed the United States hard in recent global tournaments — Sergio Llull, Rudy Fernandez, Victor Claver — is older than the stars for the other top teams.
Perhaps that age and experience was a major factor in getting Spain this far. The Spaniards beat Serbia in group play to earn favorable seeding in the knockouts, and took full advantage to march to the final. They needed an all-timer performance from Gasol to edge Australia in double-overtime in the semifinals, but they got it. Gasol, Rubio, Fernandez, Llull, and Claver have played so much together, and the Spanish plan of attack isn’t new to anyone. There’s a deep familiarity here that pays dividends in these crucial moments. Spain didn’t bring the top-line talent of a France or Serbia, or even the United States. But they know what they’re doing, because they’ve done it before. And look where’s it gotten them compared to their rivals.
Argentina’s familiarity is a different kind: it’s a learned wisdom gained from being raised by the Golden Generation’s exploits and having the presence of a legend who lived it in workouts and crunch time alike. (The coaching staff is still around, too. That’s important.) Gabriel Deck, the third highest scorer on Argentina this tournament, was nine years old when Scola and Manu celebrated Olympic gold. But that spirit still infuses the team, and in international basketball — with single-elimination, condensed schedules, and a serious lack of practice time — that spirit is real. Belief is part of the game plan. That the Argentines, young and old, are accustomed to this type of stage is important. One way or another, they’ve been here before.
This isn’t really another commentary on the plight of the United States, which finished seventh in the World Cup on Saturday. But it’s worth recognizing that when not overwhelmed by sheer talent, familiarity is a really important factor in which national teams can pull together a few weeks of glory. This World Cup is evidence.
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/9/14/20865604/fiba-world-cup-2019-argentina-vs-spain-luis-scola-marc-gasol-familiarity
2019-09-14 13:55:16Z
52780379716987
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar