BUENOS AIRES (2016 Rio Olympics) - For the fans of Argentina, each and every clash at the Rio de Janeiro Games promises to be a drama, one of twists, turns and thrills. Sergio Hernandez's side has been drawn in Group B. It will face one extremely tough test after another.

There will be games against Brazil, Spain, Lithuania and Nigeria, and one against a team that wins one of the three FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs). In Group A will be the United States, Venezuela, Australia, China and two OQT winners.

No team will be able to cruise into the Quarter-Finals. Argentina know they will have to pull out all stops to claim a top-four place in their group and advance to the knockout round. They will be aiming to make it to the Semi-Finals at a fourth straight Olympics.

If they get that far, Argentina will need one victory from their remaining two games to capture a medal. The South Americans won gold in 2004, bronze in 2008 and finished fourth in 2012.

In a tournament of 12 teams that have world rankings, it's is impossible to expect 'easy' rivals. It was expected that we would play in a tough group, and ours seems more difficult than the other one. - Hernandez

Argentina have faced all of their Group B opponents in recent years. Many of those clashes were memorable ones.

In 2006, current Argentina star Andres Nocioni had a chance to lead his team into the Final of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Japan but on the final play of the game against Spain, his three-pointer from the right corner only drew iron. Spain won, 75-74, and then hammered Greece to capture the world title for the first time in their history.

In 2008, Argentina beat Lithuania in the Bronze Medal Game at the Beijing Olympics. In a 2010 World Cup Round of 16 classic, Argentina, led by Luis Scola's 37 points and 9 rebounds, edged Brazil but then crashed to a 104-85 defeat to Lithuania, who ended up finishing third.

Argentina prevailed in Preliminary Round games over Lithuania and Nigeria at the 2012 Olympics and overcame Brazil in the Quarter-Finals, while in 2014 the Brazilians beat them in the Round of 16 at the World Cup in Spain.

Hernandez was the coach in many of those games and an assistant coach to Julio Lamas in others. He has a good idea of what lies ahead.

We have two medal candidates like Spain and Lithuania that aspire for the gold, considering their present and their history, and the other candidate for the present and as the hosts, Brazil. That is already talking about an extremely tough group, almost the same level of hardness that when you pass and you play in the knockout round. But it was to be expected. We must be calm and see how we arrive and the other teams and that is crucial because the other teams may have players absent because of injuries. - Hernandez

Spain are right now in the dark over the availability of Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, who fractured his foot several weeks ago and was lost for the remainder of the NBA campaign. Brazil may not have Tiago Splitter of Atlanta, who is recovering from a hip operation. No team has a shortage of talent, but the absences of the NBA pivots would impact the tactics of both Spain and Brazil.

Argentina would not appear to be the force that they once were. When they won in 2004 in Athens, they defeated the USA in the Semi-Finals. Last year at the FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City, though, the squad was up to the challenge and met its aim of Olympic qualification.

If Hernandez has to wait before he can assemble his final squad and also know what the makeup of other rosters will be, he and his players will not have to wait to adjust their mindset. They will arrive in Rio de Janeiro with plenty of self-belief, expecting to do something special. 

FIBA