Manu Ginobili: Rise and Fall with the Argentinian National Squad

Argentina is a founding member of FIBA and has South America's longest basketball tradition.
Argentina is a founding member of FIBA and has South America's longest basketball tradition.

2002 FIBA World Championships

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A 25-year-old Manu Ginobili played at Small Guard.
A 25-year-old Manu Ginobili played at the Small Guard position.

The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th FIBA World Championship and was held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.

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The starting lineup of the USA squad in this tournament consisted of NBA superstars such as Paul Pierce, Reggie Miller, Antonio Davis, Ben Wallace & Andre Miller. But instead, Team USA’s 58-game international winning streak was snapped in the octofinals where a 25-year old soon-to-be San Antonio Spur named Manu Ginobili led his Argentine squad to an 87-80 upset in the group stage of the tournament.

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Though Argentina lost to Yugoslavia 84-77 in the Finals(Dirk Nowitzki was awarded the MVP trophy), they had announced their arrival on the world basketball stage. "They put on a clinic," Team USA Coach George Karl said after the game. It was clear that Team USA had been embarrassed.

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Edited by Amulya Shekhar
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