By Daily Sports on August 8, 2016
Perennial medal contenders Argentina eased past Nigeria 94-66 in each team's Rio Olympic debut as Facundo Campazza scored 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point territory.
Manu Ginobili of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs added 12 points and the Brooklyn Nets' Luis Scola 18 as the more experienced Argentines proved too much for the sloppy African qualifiers.
Argentina is the only country since 1988 to have won an Olympic basketball gold medal other than the USA.
They won in Athens in 2004 on the strength of their "golden generation" of core players including Ginobili, Scola and Andres Nocioni.
But with Ginobili now 39 and the other two 36 years old, time is running out for that decorated cadre to take home another medal.
Cheered on by a boisterous turnout of fans from their nearby homeland, which borders on Brazil, Argentina jumped out to an 11-0 lead.
They never looked back, using tough defence and superior ball movement to set up eight first-half three-pointers and take a 50-31 halftime lead.
More of the same followed in the second half, with the Argentines cruising to the final buzzer. They finished with 15 three-pointers.
Nigeria was led by Ikechukwu Diogu's 15 points and 13 rebounds, and 14 points from Ebi Ere.
•Sourced from AFP
Source Daily Sports
Posted August 8, 2016
You may also like...
Aliko excited over clean sheet
Balotelli on Target again as Marseille Continue Revival...
Eguma eyes Confed Cup final after USM slim...
Karanka succeeds Warburton at Nottingham Forest
Confederation Cup: Rivers United bounce back
Robertson: Why Mane So Crucial To Liverpool Success...

FIFA Monday meeting to determine Eagles’ World Cup fate
Adesanya keen to prove GOAT status
Davis Cup: Ochei sparks Nigeria’s tennis revival
56 grassroots clubs battle for Taiwo Afolabi Cup
ICYMI: CAF reaffirms Morocco as host of WAFCON 2026, rejects postponement talk
PHOTOS: Kenya’s Ezra Kering wins 2026 Lagos city marathon
Chukwuemka prefers Austria to Nigeria
Enekwechi throws season best, Okezie finishes second in Serbia
Ogazi wins SEC Runner of the Week
Lookman has matched Osimhen’s impact – Peseiro
West Ham plot Chukwueze summer hijack
Tennis: Stakeholders dream big after Davis Cup promotion
Rangers International going, going . . . (63,556 views)
Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (54,863 views)
Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (52,772 views)
Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (52,414 views)
Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (52,330 views)
Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (52,246 views)
Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (52,113 views)
NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (51,664 views)
Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (50,833 views)
Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (49,364 views)
Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (47,756 views)
John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (47,220 views)