ARG – NT coach Lamas copes with burden of expectation

MAR DEL PLATA (FIBA Americas Championship) - The teams at this summer’s FIBA Americas Championship in Mar del Plata have some extra motivation going into the tournament.

Every player knows a place in the Final qualifies a national team for the London Games.

They will also know that sides coming in third, fourth and fifth will be invited to the 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament where three more spots for next year’s big event will be up for grabs.

Perhaps no team will feel the pressure this summer more than Argentina, for this is the host nation.

There is the weight of expectation caused by Argentina’s recent and very successful history.

There is also the pressure generated by what’s at stake, and the fact that Argentina are supposed to win because of the quality of their players.

Julio Cesar Lamas is coaching the national team for the first time in more than a decade.

"To coach to Argentina always makes one proud, but it brings pressure, demands and responsibility," Lamas said to FIBA.com.

"We have great expectations for a tournament that will be played in our country which has two qualifying places for the Olympics.

"We have the highest wishes to give the best image, to play well and reach the goals of classification.

"The first objective is to get one of the two (Olympic) places that are held in Mar del Plata."

Basketball celebration

The entire country will be watching, and the atmosphere in the Polidepotivo Islas Malvinas is going to be festive every time Argentina run onto the court.

Lamas knows this can be good, but also bad.

"Playing at home gives you something, and takes away," he said.

"It gives you many things but also places a pressure on you.

“It’s a double-edged sword so we will have to be careful with that."

Argentina’s biggest advantage is that the country’s players have been around for a long time and understand the meaning of the “double-edged sword” that Lamas speaks of.

Remember, this is the golden generation Lamas is now in charge of.

Argentina were runners-up at the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis and also won the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

They were the number one team in the FIBA World Rankings before being overtaken by the United States last summer.

These players know what it takes to win.

"I think we have players with experience to handle such pressure," Lamas said.

"We will be alert. We will not be distracted by the festive atmosphere off the court."

The biggest weapon

Lamas knows that if Argentina’s players are on form and everything goes according to plan, his squad should have a very good chance of reaching the top of the podium.

And it’s not just because of the big names from the NBA, but also the veterans who compete at a high level in Argentina or Europe like Leo Gutierrez, Hernan Jasen, Paolo Quinteros and Pablo Prigioni.

"The first weapon of Argentina is the quality of its players," Lamas said.

"We know we are candidates in this tournament, and that we are favorites because of playing at home, but there is no margin for error."

That is because of the presence of other dangerous teams like Brazil, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Canada – just to name four.

Lamas has plenty of experience in big tournaments himself.

In 1998, he coached the national team at the FIBA World Championship in Athens.

That team that had a mix of veterans (Marcelo Milanesio, Juan Espil), players at their peak (Alejandro Montecchia, Hugo Sconochini, Ruben Wolkowisky) and promising young talent (Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto).

It could be said that that event 13 years ago is when the golden generation began to take over.

London, if Argentina make it, could be the end of the national team road for some like Ginobili.

"Part of the golden generation is no longer - Montecchia, Sconochini, Wolkowisky,” Lamas said.

“But there's another part that can possibly reach London 2012 and one that can stay until Spain 2014 (FIBA World Championship).

"As coach of Argentina, I think the best is not to have a massive withdrawal.

"My hope is that players like Pablo Prigioni, Carlos Delfino, Andres Nocioni and Luis Scola will make it to Spain 2014."

The Confederation of Argentina is making a great effort to have everything ready for August 30, the day the FIBA Americas Championship tips off.

There is the distraction of the NBA lockout and the questions it has raised concerning insurance for the league’s players.

Argentina believe it will a substantial amount of money will be required to pay for insurance since four of their players - Ginobili, Scola, Nocioni and Delfino – have NBA contracts.

On this subject of the lockout, Lamas said: "I trust that the authorities of the Confederation are going to solve this and we will have the four players.

"From the sporting point of view, it makes it easy to play because the FIBA Americas Championship will be the only thing on the players’ minds in these months.

“For us, it makes it difficult because of the insurance of the players.”

The Argentinian Basketball Confederation has an advantage in that the players of this great basketball nation bleed blue and white.

They’re going to do everything in their power to represent the country in front of their home fans.

Julio Cesar Lamas is confident the players will be in Mar del Plata.

All of those fans who love Argentinian basketball are convinced they will be, too.

Diego Rivero
FIBA