Age-defying Luis Scola propels Argentina towards World Cup glory

Luis Scola is 39, his hair has more than a few streaks of grey and at the Basketball World Cup in China he has shared the court with rivals half his age.

But Argentina’s evergreen captain is playing a big part in the country’s bid to win the world crown for the first time since the inaugural edition in 1950.

He was named player of the game in Sunday’s 91-65 victory over Poland, drilling 21 points to propel Argentina into a quarter-final showdown with title-contenders Serbia on Tuesday.

The forward was also named best player against Nigeria for registering a double-double, scoring 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The last member of Argentina’s so-called “Golden Generation” who won the Olympics in 2004, Scola has won every major trophy in international basketball, except the World Cup.

“What age are you talking about, I’m 28, right?” he joked after Argentina swatted aside Venezuela in the second round.

Speaking in an unmistakably American accent, a product of spending a decade in the NBA up until 2017, Scola added: “I understand everybody talking about my age, but my brain does not function that way.

“I am not going to the court and thinking, oh my god, I’m older than these guys, or, oh my god, these guys are five, 10, 15 years younger than me.

“To me, it’s natural.

“I just think that I’m a player, I am a good player and I’m going to make good plays and help my team win.”

‘No goodbye tour’

However much he tries to avoid it, talk about his age and how much longer he can plod on for is never far away.


Scola, who spent the last two seasons in Chinese basketball, is featuring in a record-equalling fifth World Cup.

Last week he reached another milestone when his heroics against Nigeria moved him up to second on the FIBA World Cup all-time scoring list, trailing only the legendary Brazilian Oscar Schmidt.

If that was a proud moment, there is the growing prospect that Argentina could be in for a shout of at least a medal, although Serbia will present a mighty challenge despite losing to Spain on Sunday.

That same day, Scola shared the court with the youngest player in the tournament, Poland’s 18-year-old Aleksander “Olek” Balcerowski.

Scola had said that what happens at the World Cup will dictate if he would carry on for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Doing so would have a nice symmetry because he is the only remaining member of the Argentina team that stunned the USA on the way to Olympic gold at Athens 2004.

He was also in the team which won silver at the 2002 World Cup.

Asked what it was like to now be the grandfather of a team whose average age is 27, younger than most other rosters at the World Cup, Scola replied: “This is not like a tour or a goodbye week.

“This is a world championship and we are trying to go all the way to the medals.

“We don’t do maths with the ages.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Suns trade Scola to Pacers in 3-player deal

PHOENIX  — The Indiana Pacers have bolstered their front-line depth with the acquisition of Luis Scola from the Phoenix Suns.

The Pacers sent forward Gerald Green, center Miles Plumlee and a lottery-protected first-round draft pick to the rebuilding Suns.

Scola, a 6-foot-9 forward from Argentina, played his first five NBA seasons with the Houston Rockets before coming to Phoenix a year ago when the Suns submitted the winning bid under the league’s amnesty rule. He appeared in all 82 games for the Suns, averaging 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds. It was the fifth time in his career that he’s played in all games.

Scola, who has averaged 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in his career, joins a team that figures to contend in the Eastern Conference after he toiled for a season with a Suns squad that compiled the worst record in the Western Conference and second-worst in the franchise’s history.

The 6-foot-8 Green has played for six teams since coming to the NBA in 2005. Signed as a free agent by Indiana in 2012, he appeared in 60 games, averaging seven points per contest. The 6-11 Plumlee was selected in the first round by the Pacers out of Duke last year, the 26th selection overall, but appeared in only 14 games for the deep, talented Indiana squad.

Not surprisingly, Scola said he was “very, very excited to play for the Pacers.”

“They are one of the top three teams in the NBA with a good shot to win a championship,” Scola said in a Pacers news release announcing the Saturday trade. “I think it’s a great team and this is a great opportunity. I can’t wait.”

Hall of Famer Larry Bird, the Pacers’ president of basketball operations, said Scola adds veteran experience to the Indiana bench.

“He has NBA experience, international experience and is the type of player that will fit nicely on our roster,” Bird said.

Since returning to the Pacers in late June after taking a leave of absence for health reasons, Bird has re-signed power forward David West, then spent most of his time strengthening the Pacers bench.

When free agency opened, he convinced point guard C.J. Watson to sign. He also has signed backup swingman Chris Copeland and point guard Donald Sloan, and now he’s added a solid scorer to back up West. Bird also selected Arizona forward Solomon Hill in the draft.

He’s been able to make the moves without going over the NBA’s luxury tax threshold – something Bird has said he will not do.

The price for Scola wasn’t particularly high, from Indiana’s perspective.

Pacers fans have grumbled constantly about the lack of productivity from Green, who still has two years and $7 million left on the free agent deal he signed last season, and Plumlee spent much of his rookie playing time with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League.

Bird believes that a better bench will help the Pacers continue to make deep runs in the playoffs, and possibly even get past two-time NBA champion Miami in the Eastern Conference. The Heat beat Indiana 4-2 in the second round of the 2012 playoffs and needed to win Game 7 to finally fend off Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals this year.

New Suns general manager Ryan McDonough called Plumlee “one of the best players” in this year’s Summer League, where the big center averaged 10 points, 9.5 rebounds and three blocked shots. McDonough also said that Green will add athleticism and scoring ability to what is designed to be an up-tempo style under new Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek.

Phoenix is undergoing a roster overhaul in what could be a lengthy rebuilding process.

“The trade is consistent with our stated plan to continue to acquire young assets,” said Lon Babby, the Suns’ president of basketball operations. “With this trade, we now have the potential of three first-round picks in the 2014 draft and five first-round picks in the next two drafts.”

Plumlee gives the team a second young center. Phoenix used the fifth overall pick in this year’s draft to select Maryland’s Alex Len, a 7-foot Ukrainian who is recovering from right ankle surgery.

source: sports.inquirer.net