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'Manu mania' Argentines closely following exploits of Spurs guardPosted: Saturday May 17, 2003 5:21 PMBUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Move over Diego Maradona. Now there's "Manu Mania." In this soccer-mad nation of 37 million, NBA basketball is drawing in fans thanks to an Argentine rookie with the San Antonio Spurs. He's Emanuel Ginobili -- "Manu" for short -- who at 25 is playing a key role in his team's advance through the NBA playoffs. After the December 2001 street riots and economic crisis that brought Argentina five presidents in two weeks, and after Argentina's ignominious first-round ejection from last year's World Cup, "Manu" is giving this slumping South American nation something to cheer. Manu snagged five rebounds Thursday, joining two-time Most Valuable Player Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and the rest of the Spurs as they defeated a beat-up Lakers team 110-82 to win the Western Conference semifinal series 4-2. While the Spurs await the winner of the Sacramento-Dallas series, thousands of miles away in Argentina, Manu's name and fame are spreading across a vast nation of rolling cattle country that is fed up with years of economic, social and political turmoil. "Phenomenal!" read the headline in one leading Argentine newspaper, La Nacion, after Ginobili helped the Spurs shoot down the three-time defending champion Lakers. The newspaper called "Manu" the "Argentine who triumphs in the NBA" and sports pages gave him the attention normally lavished on soccer stars. Even those who follow Argentine soccer are taking notice of the explosive, 210-pound rookie in San Antonio's backcourt. Jorge Portela, 24, works at a Buenos Aires sporting goods store and is now tuning into the NBA for the first time. "Soccer is the biggest thing going in Argentina, but I've been catching the games to see what all the fuss is about," he said. At Locos Por el Futbol -- a swanky sports bar -- Marcelo Leo carved away at a slab of Argentine beef and watched as the Spurs played on a big screen normally reserved for soccer games: "Manu, boy is he good!" And in Bahia Blanca, a sleepy Argentina provincial city where basketball vies with soccer as the most popular sport, Manu's fans are cheering loudly, including his No. 1 fan -- his mom. "We want the championship ring!" said Manu's mother, Raquel, 56, reached by telephone in that city 380 miles south of Buenos Aires along the South Atlantic coast. She said she frets every game. Throughout the Lakers series, she said she worried all the time about her son colliding with Shaquille's 383 pounds. "I just couldn't bear to think what if he hit with Shaquille. I just get too nervous and suffer tremendously," she said. Raquel and her husband, Jorge, raised their three sons in a family crazy about basketball. The couple tells of how sons Emanuel, Sebastian and Leandro lionized Michael Jordan, affixing his poster to the bedroom wall while catching Chicago Bulls games on television. "At that time, Michael Jordan was the player and the Bulls were winning everything," Jorge recalled. Jorge himself grew up watching the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell on scratchy videos. But no one of his generation even dreamed of the NBA. A half block from their home is the Bahiense del Norte basketball club where the boys first learned to play. Fabian Rodriguez, an Argentine living in Bahia Blanca who saw "Manu" grow over the years, said he always stood out because of an incredible desire to win. But he said no one would have forecast his sudden rise to the NBA. "To think we were only watching him play here in Bahia Blanca only four or five years ago and it seems like a dream to see him in the NBA today, playing all those minutes in such big games," he said. Ginobili played for years in Argentina's professional league before heading to Italy, where he played for European clubs Reggio Calabria and Kinder Bologna. He led Kinder Bologna to three titles in one year, including the Euroleague championship. His success in Europe caught the eye of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. But his move to the NBA has also brought about a role change. Enrique Nocente, a basketball writer at La Nueva Provincia newspaper, said Ginobili has had adjust from being a scorer to more of a defensive player. "On defense, where it's hard to shine, he has proven very useful on rebounds and assists," said Nocente. "And that's coming for a kid who was used to scoring 20 or 25 points in a game." Eduardo Schittino, a 38-year-old basketball youth coach in Buenos Aires, said Manu is now giving every Argentine kid a dream. "We are so proud to have a player like Manu in the NBA," Schittino said. "I just love seeing him in action and cheer every victory just like I was right there beside him." |
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