Spurs Deny Ginobili Permission To Play In FIBA World Cup

Manu Ginobili had hopes of continuing his stellar international basketball career this summer at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. But the Spurs have denied him permission to participate in the event.

Via Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News, the Spurs cited several reasons for not allowing Ginobili to play at the World Cup:

Spurs general manager R.C. Buford cited an eight-week recovery span for the stress fracture in Ginobili’s lower right fibula, which was discovered during exit physicals after the team crushed Miami in the Finals to clinch their fifth championship. With the Spurs playing their last game on June 15, that would have come perilously close to the start of the World Cup, which runs from Aug. 30 through Sept 14 in Spain.

Ginobili, who turned 37 on Monday, was re-examined in Argentina last week, with national team doctor Diego Grippo noting improvement but describing the results as “inconclusive.”

Aside from his success in the NBA, Ginobili has an international basketball resume that few can match. He’s been a member of Argentina’s senior basketball team since 1998. His most memorable accomplishment came at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, when Argentina defeated Team USA in the semi-finals on its way to the gold medal. In the 89-81 victory over Team USA, Ginobili scored a team-high 29 points.

The Spurs have valid reasons for wanting to hold Ginobili back from competing this summer. Ginobili is 37 years-old, and they’ll need him healthy in order to defend their title. After a disappointing 2012-13 playoffs, Ginobili rebounded last season, averaging 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists per game while shooting 39.0 percent from downtown in the postseason.

Now that we know Ginobili was playing with a stress fracture during the playoffs, it makes his dunk on Chris Bosh in Game 5 of the NBA Finals even more impressive:

Considering Ginobili’s well-known national pride, he’ll surely be upset at San Antonio’s decision. But as he nears the end of his NBA career, he’ll also understand the rationale behind it. The Spurs are not only protecting one of their assets, but also looking out for Ginobili’s immediate NBA future.

What do you think?

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