It was an end of an era for Argentinian basketball on Wednesday, with guard Manu Ginobili and forward Andres Nocioni - staples of the men's national squad for over a decade - playing their final game for their country.
Against an American team that will presumably walk away with a gold medal at the end of the tournament, Argentina fell well short in its bid to pull off the historic upset, falling 105-78 at Carioca Arena 1.
Ginobili put up a valiant effort in what would ultimately be his final outing, scoring 14 points and dishing out seven assists on 5-of-13 shooting in 26 minutes of action. Nocioni contributed 12 points and five boards of his own.
The San Antonio Spurs star walked off the hardwood visibly upset, as fans in attendance cheered him and his teammates on in a show of respect for one of the truly great international cores of all time.
"I started playing at 19, 20 years old, and now I'm almost 40," Ginobili said in his postgame interview. "So of course, a lot of things happened. Some amazing times, unbelievable ones, and some tough ones. Most of them with the same core group of guys, good friends, with a lot of people that I love."
"Today I go home with a bag full of emotions, really." he later added.
The 39-year-old will have several mementos from his tenure with the team over the years to remind him of his success donning white and blue. Ginobili has an Olympic gold medal from Athens in 2004, as well as a bronze from Beijing four years later. That doesn't even include his numerous medals from the FIBA Americas Championship, along with his awards from the FIBA World Cup and FIBA Diamond Ball.
The same goes for Nocioni, who's grateful to have reached the heights he had with Argentina considering where he came from.
"I came from a small town (of) 18,000 residents. To be among these giants, it's unbelievable," Nocioni said.
