Argentina
and Nigeria are going to know each other very well by the time they square off
at the Olympics on 7 August because the teams have now traded blows twice in
the space of three days.
Argentina,
edged in a high-scoring first encounter, 96-92, hit back with a vengeance in
the second and won, 101-79.
Nicolas
Laprovittola underlined his importance to the team, stepping out of the shadow
cast by his more famous teammates by pouring in 24 points for the winners. He
hurt Nigeria with 3-point shooting and overall play.
Captain Luis
Scola and fellow veteran Andres Nocioni contributed 16 and 14 points,
respectively.
"I
think in the first game, we weren't prepared to play against a team that
offered a lot of defensive variables," Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez
said. "Three days of training had not been enough for us to prepare our
tactics.
"We
didn't allow them to play like they wanted (on Wednesday), except for the third
quarter. In the fourth quarter, we played them five-on-five and punished them.
I think today was very important for us because we were able to learn from the
first meeting."
Next up for
Argentina will be a friendly on Friday in Las Vegas against the United States,
the winners of the last two Olympics and the past two FIBA Basketball World
Cups.
The
Americans are geared up for the clash.
"We
want to win," USA veteran Carmelo Anthony said. "We want to send a
message. Our first time that we can do that is Friday night."
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