In what comes as no surprise, Rockets power forward Luis Scola has received permission to play for home country Argentina in this year’s FIBA World Championships.
In case you’re interested, Tom Ziller over at FanHouse briefly discusses Scola’s impact on the world’s number one ranked squad.
Scola’s confirmation assures Argentina’s frontcourt will not be much worse off. Scola will team up with friend Fabricio Oberto, who last played for the Wizards. Michael Lee of the Washington Post reported Friday that Washington is interested in bringing Oberto back for one more year. Oberto’s 35, and Argentina’s in a touch of a pickle with its frontcourt going forward — the nation’s next big star up front is Patricio Garino, who won’t play in Turkey and just turned 17 years old. The situation could be precarious for the 2012 Olympics, depending on Scola’s availability and Garino’s development.
We’ll be rooting for Scola, until he plays against the United States. Actually, we may still root for him then. Viva Luis!