Manu Ginobili has been the face of Argentina's national team for more than a decade. (FIBA)

Since stunning a United States team loaded with NBA players in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis and capturing the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, Argentina has been universally recognized as a powerhouse in FIBA competition.

Led by San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, arguably Argentina’s greatest player, the South Americans have been a fixture in the medal rounds in the Olympics and World Championships for a decade. But since its fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Championships, Argentina appears to have lost some of its magic as its core group continues to log serious mileage.

Argentina is currently No. 3 in the FIBA world rankings, only behind the United States and Spain. Despite its top-five standing, Argentina is no longer a cinch to win a medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London as Greece, Lithuania, Turkey, Italy, France and Brazil – the team Argentina defeated in the championship game of the the 2011 FIBA Tournament of the Americas – are hot on its tail and have more young talent in their programs.

Argentina’s big names are still there: Ginobili, Luis Scola, Fabrico Oberto, Andres Nocioni, Pepe Sanchez and Carlos Delfino. Ginobili and Scola are still regarded as two of the best players in the world, but the rest of the squad is looking very old and there seems to be a drought in terms of young talent in Buenos Aires.

Ginobili turned 34 this summer and Scola is 31. At 36, Oberto is way past his prime and even though Nocioni is two years younger than Ginobili his reckless style has caught up with him and his legs seem like they are ready to retire. Delfino is one of the youngest frontline players on the roster and he’s 29.

The 2012 Olympics will more than likely be this group’s last hurrah. Ginobili could try for another Olympic run in four years, but he’ll be 38 and his body may prevent him from playing. Scola doesn’t rely on athleticism so he may still be an effective player in four years. But for the rest of the core players, four years is a very, very long shot.

While the Argentines continue to hang their sombreros on international vets, the other South American hoops powerhouse, Brazil, has rebuilt its program behind a familiar face. Ruben Magnano, who guided Argentina to a gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics, was brought in to coach Brazil in 2010. A year later, Magnano has the Brazilians playing their best ball since the Oscar Schmidt era, earning one of the automatic qualifying berths for the 2012 Olympics after reaching the final of the 2011 FIBA Americas.

What was more impressive about Brazil’s run in the FIBA Americas was it reached the final without the help of NBA stars Leandro Barbosa, Nene and Anderson Varejao, who all decided to skip the tournament.

While Argentina leans heavily on Scola and Ginobili on offense, Brazil has a more balanced approach that features the playmaking skills of point guard Marcelo Huertas, who plays for Regal FC Barcelona. Spurs center Tiago Splitter is the only NBA player on Brazil’s roster at FIBA Americas, but he has had minimal impact offensively. The Brazilians have won eight of nine games, including an impressive 73-71 victory over Argentina. Its only loss came against the Dominican Republic in the early round, but it avenged that loss in the knockout round by defeating the Dominicans (led by Al Horford, Francisco Garcia and Charlie Villanueva), 83-76, in the semifinals.

Argentina had a much tougher matchup in the semis, but it managed to squeeze past a rugged Puerto Rico squad (led by J.J. Barea and Carlos Arroyo), 81-79, behind 27 points from Scola and 23 from Ginobili. Scola saved his best for last as he poured in 32 points to power Argentina to a 80-75 win over Brazil in the final.

As long as Scola and Ginobili are healthy, Argentina remains a powerful force and medal contender.

Without a doubt, having international superstars such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Manu Ginobili in the tournament would certainly boost interest. For whatever reason, all of them have decided to sit out this year’s world championships. They’re all entitled to a well-deserved break especially Nowitzki, Gasol and Ginobili, who have given up countless summers to play with their national teams.

However, one man’s loss is another man’s gain. OneManFastBreak.net publisher and editor Joel Huerto picks the five best players at the 2010 FIBA World Championship:

LUIS SCOLA, Argentina, forward: The 6-foot-9 power forward has been arguably the best player in the tournament and is the biggest reason why Argentina went 4-1 in Group A. He is averaging a tournament-best 29 points per game and leads the team with seven rebounds. Despite not being blessed with great athletic ability and size, Scola is able to dominate by being crafty. He has a very high basketball IQ and is seldom caught out of position. He has a nice face-up jump shot at the free throw line, and has an array of very efficient low-post moves that doesn’t require a lot of jumping. A veteran of countless international competitions and a member of Argentina’s gold-medal team at the 2004 Olympics in Greece, Scola is also a tough-minded individual who doesn’t back down from anyone. He is not considered to be a lock-down defender, but he moves his feet well on defense and takes charges in the lane.

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KEVIN DURANT, United States, forward: Though Durant says Chauncey Billups is the leader of Team USA, it is quite obvious that the Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star is the reason why the Americans have a great shot at winning gold in Turkey. Durant could easily average 30 points at the FIBA Worlds, but because the U.S. is so deep and talented he doesn’t have to be a volume shooter every game. Coach Mike Krzyzewski has been playing Durant at power forward much of the tournament to create some major mismatches. The 21-year-old scoring wizard ranks fifth in scoring at 17.8 per game, but he’s only averaging 24 minutes of playing time. Durant also ranks second on the team in rebounds (6.2), just a shade behind team leader Kevin Love (6.6). Durant’s value will only increase as the knockout round approaches, and the young superstar should be up to the challenge.

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LINAS KLEIZA, Lithuania, forward: The latest in the long line of great Lithuanian ball players, the former Denver Nuggets and current Toronto Raptors sharpshooter is just a notch below Durant among the top scorers at the FIBA Worlds. Kleiza, who is tied with Argentina’s Carlos Delfino at 17.4 points per game, is making 58% of his field goals and one of the main reasons why Lithuania went 5-0 in pool competition and finished first in Group D. The 6-8 forward is a very confident player, and even when his jump shot is off he always seems to find a way to score. He’s got a true scorer’s mentality and he is not afraid to take and make the big shot.

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ERSAN ILYASOVA, Turkey, forward: Lost in the giant shadows cast by countrymen Hedo Turkoglu and Mehmet Okur, the rest of the world are beginning to take notice of Ilyasova. The 6-10 forward from the Milwaukee Bucks is having a coming-out party of sorts at the FIBA Worlds. His 16.5 points and nine rebounds per game are solid, but his most impressive statistic is his shooting percentage from behind the 3-point line. In four games, the 23-year-old marksman converted 12 of 20 3-pointers for an eye-popping 60%. He saved his best game against the best competition when he lit up Greece for 26 points on 6-for-6 3-point shots. Thanks to Ilyasova, the host nation went 5-0 in Group C.

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VASSILIS SPANOULIS, Greece, guard: Guard play has been outstanding throughout the tournament, especially at point. The U.S. has gotten great play from Billups, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, Spain has a budding super stud in Ricky Rubio, Brazil is in the round of 16 because of the steady hand of Marcelo Huertas and Serbia is fueled by Milos Teodosic. But when you look at the overall picture, putting a premium on leadership and offensive efficiency, there is nobody better than Spanoulis. The 6-4 point guard leads Greece in points per game (14.0) and 3-point field goal percentage (46%). And his 52% shooting percentage from the field is amazing for a guard. His 2.2 assists per game doesn’t do him justice because he’s one of the best pick-and-roll guards in the world. Spanoulis is Greece’s barometer. When he plays well, Greece wins. When he doesn’t (like against Turkey), Greece loses.

Photos courtesy of FIBA.com

Argentina forward Luis Scola is averaging 28 points per game at the 2010 World Championship. (FIBA)

Don’t cry for Argentina just yet.

Even though the South Americans don’t have their best player, Manu Ginobili, in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, the 2004 Olympic gold-medalists are still a threat to contend for a medal in Turkey.

Luis Scola has become the unquestionable leader of the team and he having a very good tournament thus far.

The 6-foot-9 power forward – who recently signed a five-year deal with the Houston Rockets reportedly worth $47 million – is the engine that drives Argentina’s basketball factory. He’s a tough-minded player with an array of low-post moves. And even though Scola is not a very gifted athlete, he makes up for it with smarts and grit.

Scola scored 32 points to help Argentina beat Angola, 91-70, in a Group A game Monday, essentially securing the Argentines a place in the second round at the World Championship. Scola is averaging a tournament-best 28 points per game and a team-best seven boards. It wouldn’t be farfetched to say that Scola is one of the five best players at the FIBA level.

He scored 17 of Argentina’s 23 points in the first quarter against Angola as the South Americans built a three-point lead. He finished the half with 21 points as Argentina led 45-32 at halftime. In an 88-79 victory over Jordan on Wednesday, Scola netted a game-high 30 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field.

The other half of Argentina’s 1-2 punch is Carlos Delfino. The Milwaukee Bucks guard lit up Angola for 22 points and then scored 18 against Jordan. The streak shooter is capable of carrying Argentina for long stretches and he’s also a very good ball-handler and defender.

Delfino is finally getting an opportunity to shine after playing in the shadows of Ginobili and Andres Nocioni in previous major international competitions. The 6-5 guard is averaging 18 points, five rebounds and almost four assists.

The other Argentine with NBA experience is Fabricio Oberto, who won a championship ring with the San Antonio Spurs in 2007. Oberto spent four seasons in San Antonio and played for the Washington Wizards last season.

Point guard Pablo Prigioni is a veteran guard with plenty of international experience. He leads the team in assists at 4.7 and he allows Delfino to play off the ball, in which he’s more effective.

Argentina (4-0) appears to be on track to finish Group A in first place, with only Serbia standing in the way of a perfect round. Regardless of how it does against Serbia, Argentina will be a tough out in the knockout round.

Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest got real physical with each other in Game 2. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

The Los Angeles Lakers are going a little overboard in trying to shed their “soft” reputation. Against the Houston Rockets in Game 2, the Lakers lay down some serious smack talk during the game and smacked the Rockets with two vicious elbows. Both were calculated and delivered with malice.

In the fourth quarter of a hotly contested and very chippy game, Kobe Bryant sent a message to Ron Artest by swinging an elbow to Artest’s throat. It was an irony or ironies. The bully getting bullied. Ron-Ron did not like that one bit, as he stormed right to Kobe’s face to let him know about it. Artest was ejected, but Kobe brushed off the confrontation. When Bryant was asked about the incident during the postgame news conference, he said nothing. Bryant claimed he did not hear Artest. C’mon, Kobe! The guy was right in your ear. Stop playing the Obi-Wan card and just let the whole world know about your Darth Vader side.

But the biggest bow of the night was delivered by mild-mannered Derek Fisher. Just for the record, I like Derek Fisher. I think he is one of the most well-respected players in the league (he’s the president of the players’ union!) and is one of the classiest people you will ever meet. That’s why it was a total shock to me that D-Fish went to the bully tactic to deliver his message.

To recap what happened, Fisher sized up Houston forward Luis Scola and leveled him with a body check that lifted Scola off his feet and onto the floor. Fisher was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and was ejected. He tried to defend his actions, but he’s not going to convince too many people that it was just a hard, playoff foul. It was more than just a playoff foul. He wanted to hurt Scola to send the message to the Rockets forward, and the rest of the Rockets big men, that the Lakers guards are growing tired of all the illegal moving screens they have been setting for the first two games of the heated series.

Scola had been the target of many Lakers, including Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic and even Luke Walton, who rarely gets emotionally involved. Scola must have been really doing something shady to get almost half of the Lakers roster turn against him. Whatever it was, Fisher was going to let him feel it.

As much as I like good hard fouls and physical play in the postseason, I think the Lakers are crossing the line with some of their actions. It’s totally out of character for them. It’s one thing to play tough, it’s another to act tough. The Lakers are not what you call a “tough” team. They are a finese team. It is their greatest strength and their greatest weakness. Kobe is the only pitbull on their squad. The rest of them are puppies. The Lakers should be above all this nonsense, and should just focus on playing basketball instead of acting like a bunch of wanna-be mixed martial artists.