INDIANAPOLIS (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - The heavyweights are firmly declaring their presence for Argentina at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

First Laboral Kutxa (Baskonia) forward Andres Nocioni met with national team coach Julio Lamas in Malaga during this season's Copa del Rey weekend and expressed his desire to compete at the World Cup, and now a couple of NBA players, Luis Scola and Pablo Prigioni, have spoken face to face with the Argentina boss.

Scola, who carried Argentina on his back at last summer's FIBA Americas Championship to a third-place finish and a World Cup berth, is now competing with the Indiana Pacers.

After his meeting with Lamas, Scola said: "Julio asked me if I was going to the World Cup and I told him yes, something that is obvious and normal because I am healthy and I played at the qualifiers (FIBA Americas Championship).

"We didn't talk about anything that is a secret or particular, simply about how we are going to do our preparations, how I'm doing different topics and stuff that we have a shared interest in."

Scola and Prigioni have an additional incentive to play this summer because they have spent the majority of their careers as professionals in Spain's ACB (Liga Endesa).

"Spain is special for me because I spent 10 years there (with Baskonia)," Scola said.

"It's going to be beautiful. I hope that we are going to do well and be able to enjoy it."

Lamas says he had already known that Scola was going to play but that their meeting rubber-stamped Scola's involvement.

"I asked Luis formally if he was going to play in Spain and he told me yes," Lamas said.

"We also talked about different subjects surrounding the national team, and that he would return to be the captain (of squad) in Spain 2014."

Lamas, who had previously met with San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili on his trip to the United States, a player who is waiting until after the season to say whether or not he will take part at the World Cup, met with New York Knicks guard Prigioni after Scola.

"I have been thinking about Spain all year," Prigioni said.

"It's hard not to think about the national team when there is such an important event coming up as the World Cup.

"Many of us played in Spain, so for a lot of us it will be a special tournament.

"It will also be difficult because each year is difficult to compete with the best teams of the world. We will try to have the best possible preparation and bring to the court the desire to compete and fight."

Prigioni also said it was important to him that Argentina had not naturalized any players.

"While many national teams nationalize players or hire foreign coaches, the team of Argentina has a very particular essence," he said.

"It's worth noting that the team has for many years maintained a good level with Argentinian players, always with the national essence.

"It's something to be proud of."

Argentina will take on Greece, Puerto Rico, Croatia, Senegal and the Philippines in Group B of the World Cup.

Those games will be played in Seville.

FIBA