I’m happy to see that Manu, Fabricio, Beno, Luis, and yes, even Rasho, are putting up big numbers in the World Championships. I’m even happier that Bruce and Tony are not playing at all.
From FOX Sports:
Manu Ginobili scored 28 points to help make up for Argentina’ 1-for-18 3-point shooting in a 79-62 win over New Zealand.
Ginobili, who plays for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, made Argentina’s only 3-pointer to give the South Americans a 70-58 lead 3:47 remaining.
New Zealand pulled to within nine points in the fourth quarter before Ginobili’s 3-pointer started a 12-point run for Argentina.
“I guess we have to be happy that we had a bad day today,” Ginobili said. “We didn’t need the 3-point shooting. We expect to get better for our next game.”
Ginobili had six points early in the third quarter. His two-handed dunk gave the Olympic champions a 49-35 lead and Argentina went into the fourth quarter leading 59-44.
“For our team, he’s the man,” Hernandez said. “He knew how well New Zealand was defending the pass so he knew he had to score a lot.”
Argentina, runner-up at the 2002 worlds in Indianapolis, got 23 points from Fabricio Oberto and 10 from Luis Scola.
“That was the game we expected, very aggressive and physical contact on their part,” said Ginobili, who took a charge in the third quarter. “But we held on and now we’re in the final eight.”
Beno Udrih, the backup point guard for the San Antonio Spurs, led Slovenia (2-4) with 18 points, 12 in the last quarter. Rasho Nesterovic, who plays for the Toronto Raptors, and Bostjan Nachbar, who plays for the New Jersey Nets, each added 14 points for Slovenia, which was making its first appearance at the world championship.
