History of the Argentina national basketball team

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The

Uruguay
that same year.

Argentina's national basketball team remains among the most successful in the

2011) and Pan American Gold Medal (1995 and 2019). They have also won 13 South American Basketball Championships
, as well as many youth championships.

The Argentine representative was also the first to defeat a United States national team with a full squad of NBA players. They did so by 87–80 in the 2002 FIBA World Championship held in Indianapolis.

1910s and 1920s

The first national team as covered by El Gráfico magazine in 1921

The practice of basketball in Argentina was started by Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes (

Young Men's Christian Association – YMCA) in 1912.[1] Canadian Professor Paul Phillip was in charge to teach basketball at the YMCA headquarters in Paseo Colón Avenue, Buenos Aires
.

Argentina playing Uruguay in 1925

The first basketball clubs in Argentina were YMCA,

Uruguay national team played a game v. local team Nacional, in Buenos Aires.[2]

In 1921 the "Argentine Basketball Federation" (original name: "Federación Argentina de Basket-Ball" – FABB) was established to organise competitions not only in Buenos Aires but in several cities around Argentina, such as

Uruguay in 1921. The players chosen to play that match were: S.G. Romero, J.C. Rodríguez Quiroga (captain), A. Birba, M. Hernandorena, J. Barbier.[2]

In successive years, other clubs such as Ñaró,

Argentine Basketball Federation (current "Confederación Argentina") was established,[2]
with founder members from Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Santa Fe, La Rioja, North Federation and Bahía Blanca. The Federación Argentina focused on the spread of basketball in Buenos Aires as in the rest of the provinces of Argentina.

1930s and 1940s

Argentina v USA at the 1948 Olympics

By the 1930s the practise of basketball had been widely spread around Buenos Aires, with the media (more remarkably El Gráfico magazine) not only covering the sport but even organising competitions.

In 1930 the first South American Championship ("Campeonato Sudamericano" in Spanish) was organised, being Argentina runner-up. The national side would win its first official title at the 3rd edition of the tournament, in 1934 in Buenos Aires. The national team finished winning all the games (6 in total) achieving the gold medal. Argentina won its second consecutive title at the 1935 Championship held in Rio de Janeiro with 3 wins and 1 loss.

After several competitions with no wins, Argentina achieved a new title in 1941, winning all the games (5). During the successive editions, Argentina would achieve its first treble after winning the 1942 and 1943 championships. Nevertheless, Argentina would not win a new South American title until 1966.

1950s

The 1950 World Champions.

After the

World Championship, and named Argentina as the host country for the inaugural 1950 edition. The team's coaching staff was formed by Jorge Canavesi as head coach, Casimiro González Trilla as his assistant and Jorge Boreau as the physical trainer.[4] The squad, formed entirely by amateur players, trained in preparation for the tournament in River Plate's facilities every day in double shifts, something uncommon for the times.[4]
The Argentine government negotiated with the players' employers and studying centers to secure their times.

Oscar Furlong, one of the key players in the 1950 World Championship.

The team played around

Egypt (68–33) in the final round; before defeating the United States
in the decisive match (64–50).

After the World Championship title, Argentina won the silver medal at the 1951 Pan American Games held in Buenos Aires and finished fourth at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki. However, for political reasons, the country did not participate in the 1953 South American Basketball Championship, nor did they defend the World Championship title in the 1954 edition of the tournament.[4] The last participation of the 1950s generation was in the 1955 Pan American Games held in Mexico City, where they won another silver medal.

The world championship won clean and brilliantly, but, on January 8, 1957, the military dictatorship of

Pedro Aramburu, who had taken power in Argentina via a coup d'état which called itself Revolución Libertadora, provisionally suspended the 1950 World Championship winners; a measure that was later made permanent on March 27 of that year.[4]
According to the polemic amateur article a professional sportsman can not receive money, but the Argentinean players -not USA- received economic compensation for play. The suspension was for allegedly violating the Amateur Sportsman Statute, as, according to the administrators who had been installed in the Argentine Basketball Federation, the players had been paid to play by the overthrown government of Juan Perón.[4] With a young and inexperienced team, Argentina finished fourth in the 1958 South American Basketball Championship and 10th (over 13 teams) in the 1959 FIBA World Championship.

1960s

Players Antonio Tozzi (up) and Rubén Mascetti in 1960

Subsequently, the team had further disappointing third and fourth-place finishes at the 1961 and 1963 South American Championships respectively, and did not participate in the 1963 Pan American Games.

In preparation for the 1963 World Championship, Alberto Andrizzi was appointed as head coach.[5] For different reasons, point guards Ricardo Crespi and Hugo Olariaga, shooting guards Marcelo Farías and Norberto Batillana, centers Miguel Ballicora and Guillermo Riofrío, as well as Ricardo Alix, decided not to be part of the World Championship squad.[5] Most of the players were amateurs, who alternated the practice of the sport with their jobs and studies.[5]

Coach Andrizzi formed a squad that averaged 22.8 years of age, the lowest in the team's history at the competition, and with only one player from the previous World Championship (Antonio Tozzi).

Córdoba Province, and played some preparation games against teams from Córdoba and Santa Fe. The delegation that traveled to Brazil (where the competition took place) had no assistant coach, nor a physician.[5]

To play for the national team we had to get permission from our jobs and the missed days were discounted from our salaries. Many times you went without knowing if you would still have a job when you came back. The most you could ask for was that the

Argentine Basketball Federation
paid you the missed days. The team was not always formed by the best players, rather by the ones that could go

Samuel Oliva[5]

In the tournament itself, Argentina faced a tough group with

Brazil in the 2010 World Championship.[6]
The team was eliminated in the preliminary round, but finished first in the "consolation round", played by the 6 teams eliminated in the first group stage.

After the tournament, both of the teams centers received offers to continue their playing careers abroad. Desimone joined

NCAA Division II of the United States. None of them ever played again for their national team.[5]

After the 1963 World Championship, the Argentine national team disbanded for 2 years and 8 months.

Cosquín. Subsequently, in that same year, the team finished last (among 13) in the Extra World Championship held in Chile.[5] These two tournaments were the first international experiences for Ernesto Gehrmann and Alberto Cabrera
, who went on to play many years for Argentina.

For the 1966

Brazil in the process, and breaking a 23-years run without winning a South American championship. That Argentine national team came to be nicknamed "Los Cóndores" (in English: "the Condors").[5]

For the

Victoria Libertas Pesaro and Guillermo Riofrío, Alberto Desimone and Carlos D'Aquila of Pallacanestro Cantù (the latter two would go on to win the Serie A with the team in the 1967–68 season).[5]

In the group stage, Argentina defeated

Palmeiras in Brazil.[5] Argentina finished the competition 6th, the best position for the team until the 2002 Championship
.

After the tournament, the debate in Argentine basketball became about the importance of having tall players.

In the Argentine league I was a tall player with my 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in), but when we got to the hotel in Montevideo I was surprised by seeing the Soviets and Yugoslavs who were many centimeters taller and physically stronger than me. And they also played well...

Ángel Casarín[5]

Two months after the 1967 World Championship, Argentina, lead again by coach Casimiro González Trilla who had replaced Alberto López, took a team with 5 centers and only two guards to the

Washington Bullets
took a job as an engineer in San Francisco, ending his basketball career. Moreover, Guillermo Riofrío often declined citations.

In 1968, Argentina finished 5th in the South American Championship (equaling its worst position in the history of the tournament). Moreover, the team did not qualify for the 1970 World Championship, after a third-place finish in the 1969 South American Championship. This was the first time the Argentine national team did not take part of the competition since its inception in 1950.[7] In 1973, Argentina played the final of the South American Championship after seven years without doing so, losing to Brazil (but qualifying for the World Championship). Between the 1967 World Championship and the 1973 South American Championship, the team had 4 coaches: Casimiro González Trilla, Jorge Canavesi, Jorge Martínez and Miguel Ángel Ripullone.[7] The latter was confirmed as head coach for the 1974 FIBA World Championship to be held in Puerto Rico.

1970s

To compensate for the lack of international experience of most of the players, the national team made the longest tour in its history, playing 20 games in 46 days throughout Europe.

Greece
and Italy). After the tour, José de Lizaso and Carlos Pellandini were cut from the squad, due to an argument with the coach the former and due to injury the latter.

"Beto" Cabrera, nicknamed Magician took part of the team that played the 1974 World Championship

The team for the 1974 World Championship was built around four experienced players: Alberto Cabrera, Ernesto Gehrmann, Carlos González and Alfredo Monachesi (who averaged 28 years of age) the intermediate generation of Adolfo Perazzo, Jorge Becerra and Raúl Guitart (averaging 23), and the youngsters Eduardo Cadillac and Carlos Raffaeli (who had won the South American Youth Championships of 1972 and 1973). Though some of the players had other jobs or studied, all of them were professional, exception being Cabrera who did not get paid in Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca for a matter of personal principle.[7]

In the tournament itself, Argentina was faced in a tough group with the United States,

Czechoslovakia
(who had 45 points scored by Kamil Brabenec). The national team finished the World Championship in the 11th place.

After the 1974 Championship, the team won two South American Championships: 1976 (at home in Bahía Blanca) and 1979 (in Medellin, Colombia). However, they failed to qualify for the World Cups of 1978 and 1982, due to finishing third in the qualifying tournaments of 1977 (without Perazzo, Raffaelli and Prato in the squad) and 1981 (same situation, but this time also without Cadillac, injured).

1980s

Liga Nacional
that contributed to the renovation in the national during the 1980s

In 1980, coached by Ripullone and with the assistance of Yugoslavian

Ranko Zeravica, the team finished third in the Tournament of the Americas, earning their first qualification for the Olympics since 1952. This was arguably the biggest achievement for Argentine basketball since the 1950 World Championship title.[7] However, due to the country's adherence to the U.S.-led boycott of the Moscow Olympics, the team did not compete in the tournament. The decade continued with a second place in the 1983 South American Basketball Championship (with Alberto Finguer as coach) and a disappointing 7th place (among nine teams) in the 1984 Tournament of the Americas
held in Brazil.

Despite the poor international performance, 1984 came to be one of the most important years in the history of Argentine basketball, as it was the debut season of the

Liga Nacional de Básquet
(LNB), the first professional nationwide basketball league of the country.

For the 1985 South American Championship, León Najnudel, the mastermind behind the LNB's inception, was selected as the national coach. With him came a renovation in the national squad, with the youngsters Héctor Campana (20 years old), Hernán Montenegro (18), Sergio Aispurúa (20) and the two tallest Argentine players in history: Jorge González (19 and 2.30 m (7 ft 6+1⁄2 in)) and Fernando Borcel (17 and 2.18 m (7 ft 2 in)). Argentina finished the tournament third, enough to qualify for the 1986 FIBA World Championship to be held in Spain. However, Najnudel did not coach the team during the World Cup, having left the position due to a fight with CABB's president Amadeo Cejas.

Argentine players celebrating the victory over USA by 74–70 in the 1986 World Cup.

Puerto Rican Flor Meléndez, by the time coach of Unión de Santa Fe in Argentina, was selected to manage the national team. The coach made up a squad with experienced players like Miguel Cortijo, Esteban Camisassa, Carlos Romano, Luis González, Luis Oroño and Gabriel Milovich, and youngsters like Campana, Sebastián Uranga, Diego Maggi, Marcelo Milanesio, Montenegro and Aispurúa. To get the necessary international experience, the team played a total 19 preparation matches in one month, though during the first games Meléndez' assistant Juan Carlos Alonso took up coaching duties while the former coached his team in the Puerto Rican league's playoff matches. During the preparation, González suffered an injury and had to be replaced by Borcel for the World Championship squad.

For the first round of the

New Zealand. The key match for obtaining qualification was the debut against the Netherlands, in which the youngster Rik Smits
(19 years of age and 2.21 m (7 ft 3 in)) scored 25 points. However, Argentina won in extra time 82–75, with good contributions from the substitutes Campana (13 points) and Uranga (16). There were no surprises in the other 4 games: Argentina lost to Canada (82–96) and Yugoslavia (68–87) and defeated both Malaysia (93–73) and New Zealand (89–64), effectively qualifying for the second round of the tournament.

The national team faced a tough second round debut against the

China
, the team had serious possibilities of qualifying to the semifinals, but Yugoslavia's defeat by the US crushed that chance. Subsequently, a 70–78 defeat by Italy forced Argentina to play for the 9th to 12th place. Further defeats against Greece (88–102, suffering 40 points by Nicos Gallis) and Cuba (85–81) derived in a 12th-place finish.

After the 1986 World Championship, Flor Meléndez took the team to win the gold medal in the 1987 South American Championship held in Asunción (Paraguay). It was the first title for Argentina since 1979. After that victory and a poor participation in the 1987 Panamerican Games, Meléndez left his coaching position and was replaced by Alberto Finguer. With the new coach, Argentina finished 8th (among 10 teams) in the 1989 FIBA Americas Championship. Nonetheless, the team qualified directly for the 1990 FIBA World Championship as the host nation.

1990s

Ranko Zeravica was offered. The coach also faced problems when forming the squad, due to Germán Filloy and Esteban Camisassa's injuries, and center Carlos Cerutti
's death earlier that year. Hernán Montenegro was also cut alleging his problematic attitude. Moreover, in a pre-tournament friendly against Greece, Héctor Campana, the team's key offensive player, suffered an injury.

In the debut, with Campana playing injured, Argentina lost by 20 to the

Egypt. In the second round, the team debuted against the United States in the Luna Park
stadium. 33 points by Campana and a solid teamwork were not enough to avoid defeat, the same result suffered in the next four games: Puerto Rico, Greece and Australia (twice). Argentina finished the tournament 8th.

After the 1990 tournament, the head coaching job was held by Guillermo Vecchio for the four-years process prior to the 1994 World Championship. With a bronze medal at the 1993 FIBA Americas Championship, Argentina qualified to the competition to be held in Canada.

The squad for tournament was formed by the best players from the local league (exception being Montenegro, who rejected the call up) plus

Juan Espil
).

Coached by Guillermo Vecchio, Argentina won first ever gold medal in senior men's Panamerican basketball, at the

Mar del Plata, Argentina
. The team was composed by players as Marcelo Milanesio, Diego Osella, Ruben Wolkowisky, Estaban De la Fuente, Juan Espil, and a young Fabricio Oberto among others.

2000–2014: the Golden Generation

Manu Ginóbili, Luis Scola, Fabricio Oberto and Andrés Nocioni, some of the players that were part of the Golden Generation that raised at the 2002 World Championship

After obtaining back-to-back

Mexico, Argentina would reach the finals and lose against the United States, securing a spot in the Olympics anyway.[11]

In July 2004 Argentina began preparations for the

Spain.[15]

Fabricio Oberto (#7) against Lithuania's Linas Kleiza during the 2010 World Championship

Argentina made their debut on the group phase of the Olympic Tournament with an 83–82 victory against world champions

Greece and advanced to the semifinals where they achieved yet another historic victory against the United States, denying the American men's team a gold medal for the first time since 1988 in Seoul – the last Olympic tournament before the advent of the Dream Team.[18] On August 28, 2004, Argentina obtained its first gold medal in basketball by defeating Italy 84–69 in the final.[19]
The impact the series of results obtained between the Indianapolis and Athens tournaments led the Argentine press to dub this group of players The Golden Generation ("La Generación Dorada", in Spanish). The Olympics title in 2004 is the higher honor and important title of Argentine basketball.

After those triumphs, Argentina won the gold medal in 2008

FIBA Men's Ranking.[20]

In 2010, after the World Cup, Julio Lamas returned as coach of the national team. In 2011, under his guidance, the team won the FIBA Americas gold medal for the second time at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship, played in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. The team qualified directly for the London's Olympic games, where they finished 4th.

In the 2014 World Cup, Argentina finished 11th after being defeated to Brazil on the round of 16. After that match the media stated it was the end of the Golden Generation[21] with some of Argentina's key players (Pablo Prigioni, Leonardo Gutiérrez and Andrés Nocioni) retiring from the national team.[22]

2015-present

In January 2015,

Venezuela
by 76–71.

Manu Ginóbili and

Spain). In quarter finals, Argentina was defeated by United States (105–78), being therefore eliminated from the competition. After that match, Ginóbili[23] y and Nocioni[24]
announced their retirement from the national team.

After the game, USA's coach, Mike Krzyzewski, praised the Argentine players defining them as "not only a team but a culture, because of the magnificence they have been showing to the world during the last two decades".[25][26]

In 2019, led by Luis Scola and Facundo Campazzo at the pitch, and with Sergio Hernández as coach, the Argentine team won the gold medal in the Panamerican Games, beating Puerto Rico in the final match. It was the second gold medal at Panamerican Games for Argentina. The last one had been in 1995.

In 2022, with

Mar Del Plata
.

References

  1. ^ Historia en la Argentina on Asociación Cristiana de Jóvenes en la Argentina website (Archive - March 11, 2012)
  2. ^ a b c Linea de Tiempo del Básquet Argentino by Ricardo Orcasitas, CABB website
  3. ^ Historia del Básquet en la Argentina
  4. ^ a b c d e f Alejandro Pérez (2006-04-29). "La historia de Argentina en los Mundiales" (in Spanish). CABB. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Alejandro Pérez (2006-05-22). "La historia de Argentina en los Mundiales" (in Spanish). CABB. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
  6. ^ Pablo Cormick (2010-09-07). "Argentina, con inteligencia y carácter". ESPNDeportes (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 11, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Alejandro Pérez (2006-06-17). "La historia de Argentina en los Mundiales" (in Spanish). CABB. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
  8. ^ Argentina hands NBA players first international loss, Sports Illustrated, September 5, 2002.Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  9. ^ Argentina book final spot, BBC Sport, September 7, 2002. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  10. ^ Yugoslavia beats Argentina to repeat as world champions, USA Today, September 10, 2002. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  11. ^ U.S. stomps Argentina, USA Today, September 1, 2003. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  12. ^ La hora de la despedida y a llenar valijas de ilusiones, Clarín, July 26, 2004. Retrieved March 2, 2012. (in Spanish)
  13. ^ 2004 FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament for Men, FIBA Archive. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  14. ^ El básquet dio cátedra para su sueño olímpico, Clarín, August 7, 2004. Retrieved March 2, 2012. (in Spanish)
  15. ^ Para España, la fiesta; de Argentina, la ilusión, Clarín, August 8, 2004. Retrieved March 2, 2012. (in Spanish)
  16. ^ OLYMPICS – BASKETBALL: MEN; Ginóbili's Last-Second Shot Lifts Argentina, The New York Times, August 16, 2004. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  17. ^ OLYMPICS; Unbeaten Spain Tops Argentina, The New York Times, August 18, 2004. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  18. ^ Dream Team surrender title, BBC Sport, August 27, 2004. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  19. ^ Argentina's basketball joy, BBC Sport, August 28, 2004. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  20. ^ "Star-studded but aging Argentine squad looks to add to achievements with FIBA Americas gold". sportingnews. 12 September 2011.
  21. ^ El adiós de la Generación Dorada: un ciclo maravilloso que deja un mensaje inmortal by Claudio Cerviño on La Nación, 18 Aug 2016
  22. ^ El final de la Generación Dorada: tres referentes de la Selección de Básquet anunciaron su retiro, Infobae, 9 Sep 2014
  23. ^ Río 2016. El retiro de Manu Ginóbili: contó lo que lo quebró, el tuit que le dedicó la NBA y la entrevista que debió cortar por la emoción, La Nación, 18 Aug 2016
  24. ^ El Chapu Nocioni dijo basta, y la selección perdió mucho más que un partido, La Capital, 17 Aug 2016
  25. ^ Pura admiración del plantel de EE.UU. para Manu y la Generación Dorada, Clarín, 18 Aug 2016
  26. ^ El Dream Team mostró su admiración por Argentina, TyC Sports, 18 Aug 2016
  27. ^ "Deck named MVP; Campazzo, Santos, Cole and Banton named to All-Star Five". fiba.basketball. 12 September 2022.
  28. ^ "Gabriel Deck y Facundo Campazzo: El MVP y quinteto ideal de la Americup". 12 September 2022.
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