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.

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Spurs' 2007 draft pick Tiago Splitter will make his NBA debut in 2010.

The Spurs’ signing of Euroleague center Tiago Splitter earlier in the week had very little fanfare. There were no ESPN one-hour specials, no Jim Gray playing emcee and the news was absent from all the 24-hour news networks.

It was your typical Spurs offseason transaction. Very low key and very business-like.

The move may not look significant now but when the season begins in October teams will realize that the Spurs just got bigger and better by adding the best big man in Europe.

“We’re very fortunate to be adding one of the best players not playing in the NBA,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said of the heralded 6-foot-11 Brazilian star who was drafted by the Spurs in 2007 with the 28th pick, but played in Europe the past three seasons. Now, he will play alongside his idol, Tim Duncan, in the San Antonio frontcourt.

In the Euroleague, Splitter wore No. 21 because of Duncan. In the NBA, he will wear No. 22.

“I really decided that I wanted to come here,” Splitter told the Associated Press. “I stayed more time in Europe to improve my game a lot. It was the right time at the right moment.”

The 25-year-old was MVP of both the Spanish League regular season and finals while leading Caja Laboral Vitoria to a second championship, averaging 15.4 points and 7.1 rebounds in 38 games. He shot 59% from the field and 76% from the line.

The 235-pound Splitter still has room to grow physically, but he easily becomes the most talented big man to play with Duncan since David Robinson retired in 2003.

The Spurs are a franchise built on dominant big men. There was Artis Gilmore in the 1980s, followed by Robinson in the 1990s and then Duncan in the 2000s. But Duncan prefers to play power forward and he’s had to endure a slew of low-level, journeyman-type centers the past seven years.

Remember Rasho Nesterovic? Or, how about Nazr Mohammed? And who could forget the very bland Fabricio Oberto era?

Splitter is expected to contribute right away and it would be a huge disappointment if he’s not in the starting lineup on opening night. He’s certainly upgrade from Matt Bonner and Antonio McDyess.

Bringing Splitter aboard was an offseason target for the Spurs after being swept by Phoenix in the Western Conference semifinals. San Antonio hasn’t drastically changed its roster since, apart from swingman Richard Jefferson opting out of his deal for free agency.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Splitter didn’t appear lured by an immediate NBA payday. The most the Spurs could offer Splitter this season was their midlevel exception, around $5.8 million, whereas his Spanish club could have offered him more.

“If I stayed in Spain I could have made more money,” Splitter said. “But this is my moment.”

Splitter has played for Caja Laboral Vitoria in the ACB League since the 2003-04 season. In his seven seasons with Caja Laboral, he has established himself as one of the dominate big men in Europe. He has led Caja Laboral to four Spanish League regular season titles (2003-04, 2004-05, 2006-07 and 2008-09) and two Spanish League championships (2007-08 and 2009-10).

In addition the team has advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the Euroleague Championship six straight seasons (including four straight semifinal appearances from 2004-08).

During the 2009-10 Euroleague action, Splitter averaged 13.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 26.1 minutes in 16 games. He shot 54% from the field and 63% from the line. He earned All-Euroleague honors for the third straight season.

Originally signed by Caja Laboral in April of 2000, at the age of 15, Splitter played, on loan, with Araba Gorago Alava in 2000-01 and Basket Bilbao Berri in 2001-02 and 2002-03 before joining Caja Laboral for the 2003-04 season.

Born and raised in Brazil, Splitter has played for the Brazilian National Team since 2002 and is a teammate of Leandro Barbosa and Nene. Splitter’s Brazilian teams have captured gold medals at the 2003 South American Championship, the 2003 Pan American Games, the 2005 Americas Championship and the 2009 Americas Championship.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The best players of the 2009-10 Euroleague Basketball season were honored last week at the annual Euroleague Basketball Awards Ceremony held at the historic Paris city hall, Hôtel de Ville.

Olympiacos point guard Milos Teodosic was voted the 2009-10 Euroleague MVP after a breakout season. Teodosic, who led Olympiacos to the Euroleague Final against Regal FC Barcelona, was joined on the 2009-10 All-Euroleague First Team by Olympiacos teammate Linas Kleiza at forward, Regal FC Barcelona guard Juan Carlos Navarro, CSKA Moscow forward Viktor Khryapa and Partizan Belgrade center Aleks Maric.

It is a first-time honor for all but Navarro, the 2009 Euroleague MVP and 2010 Euroleague Final MVP, who was named All-Euroleague First Team for the fourth time. Kleiza, who played for the Denver Nuggets last season, won the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy. Khryapa received the Euroleague Best Defender Trophy and the Rising Star Trophy went to Ricky Rubio, 19, of Barcelona, the youngest winner of an end-of-season award ever in the Euroleague.

Ricky Rubio led Regal FC Barcelona to victory in the 2010 Euroleague Final.

Rubio was the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, but opted to play in Europe. The Minnesota Timberwolves hold his draft rights. Rubio and Navarro, teammates on Spain’s national team, recently led Barcelona to a victory in the Euroleague Final over Olympiacos.

The 2009-10 All-Euroleague second team featured Bo McCalebb of Partizan at point guard, CSKA forward Ramunas Siskauskas, forward Josh Childress of Olympiacos, forward Erazem Lorbek of Barcelona and center Tiago Splitter of Caja Laboral. Siskauskas, the 2008 MVP, is a second-team selection for the third time. He was also on the first team and was MVP in 2008.

Lorbek, the 2005 Rising Star, is on the second team for the second time. Splitter is also on the Second Team for the second time and was a member of the 2008 All-Euroleague First Team. Childress, who played for the Atlanta Hawks for four seasons, and McCalebb, a Euroleague rookie, are both first-time honorees.

Euroleague.net contributed to this report.

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