Argentina: In the shadow of the boys

The Argentina men are accustomed to returning home with medals draped around their necks after the world's top competitions but not the women. Things could be changing…

Argentina has left a big imprint on international basketball with the success of its men's teams, but for the women it's been a different story. Not once since the women's tournament has been played at the Olympics has Argentina been able to qualify. The men lost a heart-breaking 2002 FIBA World Championship final to Yugoslavia and then captured gold at the Athens Games two years later. For the women, there was a 10th place at the 2002 FIBA World Championship and ninth in 2006 in Brazil. Why are the men playing for titles and reaching Olympic Games while the women are not? What enabled the men's game to develop was the creation of the Liga Nacional in 1984. There is a women's Liga Nacional, but in no way is it as good as the men's. The women's liga has just eight teams - half as many as the men's competition. Then there are the international superstars for the men. While the Argentina men's National Team has Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni and Luis Scola with big NBA contracts, there are no Argentina women in the EuroLeague, or the WNBA. The majority of the women's National Team squad members play in the Liga Nacional, including five in the title-winning Velez Sarsfield club. Those who play abroad are for the most part in second-division European leagues like Italy and Spain. Only two players, including Gisela Vega with Tarbes in France, are members of strong European leagues. Considering this, the international results of the Argentina women have not been that bad.

Argentina obtained a ticket for FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Madrid thanks to a 66-63 overtime victory against hosts Chile last summer at the FIBA Americas Championship. Marcella Paoletta hit some crucial free-throws at the end of the game to help force the extra period. Argentina went on to suffer a 51-point blowout defeat to the United States and a 32-point drubbing against Brazil in the bronze medal game, but they still came in fourth and without key players Vega, Carolina Sanchez, Natalia Rios and Veronica Soberon, that was a very good finish for Eduardo Pinto's team. And the good news is that all four will be in Madrid to help Argentina try to qualify for Beijing. Offensively, Vega will provide punch inside and Sanchez outside. They are the two best weapons for Pinto's team. Both have great experience at international level. Currently, Vega is the best player of the country. She is coming off a solid campaign in the French league with Tarbes and looks ready to play at Europe's highest club level. The albiceleste are also counting 22-year old center Florencia Fernandez, who was the best Argentinian scorer in Chile, to develop. Perhaps the most intriguing player for Pinto will be Sthefany Thomas, a college player at Clemson University in the vaunted Atlantic Coast Conference who qualified to play for Argentina since her American father once played professionally in the country. At 19, she will perform for the first time at such a high-level. She was hugely impressive at the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women in Slovakia last year.

A lack of size at the center position could be detrimental this summer. The tallest player, Gimena Landra, is only 1.88m tall. An aggressive defence and tough rebounding is the only way this Argentina team will succeed. Madrid won't be an easy tournament, but people in Argentina who follow the squad do believe it has the potential to reach the Olympics for the first time. After all, Argentina has the fifth FIBA ranking of all teams playing in that tournament and five teams will qualify for Beijing. With a mix of veterans and talented youth, the new Argentinian team may be the best in the country's history. This team will need to find some chemistry, though. The opening game against Czech Republic should give a strong indication as to what the albiceleste can achieve in Madrid.


How did they qualify?

2007 FIBA Americas Championship, Final Round
3rd place (4 W - 1 L)

Results

1st round
Sept-26th 2007    Brazil b. Argentina    72-62
Sept-27th 2007    Argentina b. Mexico    90-52
Sept-28th 2007    Argentina b. Chile    66-63

Semi-final
Sept-29th 2007    USA b. Argentina    104-53

Third-Place
Sept-30th 2007    Brazil b. Argentina    73-41