Texas Olympic Trio
By Guest Blogger Bo Durkop
Texas’ three NBA teams are well represented in the 2008 Olympics. The Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki, Houston Rockets Yao Ming, and the San Antonio Spurs Manu Ginobili, who each just a few months earlier competed in the NBA playoffs are now set to perform for an even larger world wide audience.
After propelling German men’s basketball team to its first Olympic appearance in sixteen years, Dirk Nowitzki was assigned the honor of carrying the country’s flag in the opening ceremony.
Now with that celebration over, the real work begins. In the preliminary round for group B, Germany’s first match is against Angola. Even greater challenges awaits the erman squad in the upcoming week when they take on European champions Greece, World Champions Spain, the highly motivated and extremely talented USA squad, and China, the host country’s celebrated team.
Leading China’s team is Yao Ming, who is making his third Olympic appearance. China reached the quarterfinals in the 2004 Olympics and will have plenty of fan support this summer as they strive for further progress. Yao Ming, who humbly carried the Olympic torch in Beijing, has a fire in his belly when it comes to competing.
In an interview with local Chinese media, Ming said, “I think we should focus on how to do well at this Olympics because (the Beijing Games) has been a dream for us all.”
Manu Ginobili along with a battle tested Argentina squad is looking to make their dream of Olympic championship repeat come true. Argentina’s first obstacle to overcome is the team from Lithuania. Both teams have been assigned to group A, along with Australia, Iran, Russia, and Croatia.
When asked to describe his team’s chemistry, Manu said, “We are hard workers and we just want the best for our teammates. On every team, that’s huge. We got all the roles well-covered and we’re all looking for just one simple goal.”
For all these players, though the goal is clear, the results remain to be seen.
Photo credit: Newscom
Tags: 2008 olympics, Beijing, Beijing Olympics, dallas mavericks, dirk nowitzki, houston rockets, manu ginobili, mens basketball, Olympics, San-Antonio-Spurs, sports, Summer Olympics, Yao-MingRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Basketball, Beijing 2008
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