Ginobili defends Argentina coach amid withdrawals

Jul 5, 2007 - 7:21 PM BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Ticker) -- San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginobili insists the numerous withdrawals from the Argentina squad to contest the FIBA Americas Championship are not the fault of coach Sergio Hernandez.

Ginobili has joined San Antonio teammate Fabricio Oberto, Charlotte's Walter Herrmann, Chicago's Andres Nocioni, European-based star Pepe Sanchez and others in pulling out of the tournament, which tips off in Las Vegas on August 22.

Without his best players, Hernandez now faces an uphill task in securing qualification to the 2008 Olympics so Argentina can defend its gold medal won in Athens four years ago.

The long list of absences has turned the spotlight on the coach, but Ginobili insisted he is not to blame.

"The coach is not the problem - they are just rumors going around," said Ginobili, who was advised by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to sit out the tournament after a grueling season in San Antonio that ended with an NBA championship.

"The real reason is that most of the players are reaching 30 years old and this is the time when a basketball player's career starts to go downhill. My decision was considered for a long time. I didn't just say, 'This year I won't play because I am tired'. It was a difficult decision to take. It's difficult for me to say no because you never know when you can return."

Oberto and Herrmann both chose to rest this summer, while Nocioni is recovering from a foot injury which sidelined him towards the end of the season.

"Each of us have different reasons that can be physical, personal or whatever," Ginobili added. I don't like to talk about the others, but everybody's intention is to return to the national team and retain the Olympic gold medal next year.