Ginobili sheds some light on Scola

Luis Scola is one of the quieter guys in the NBA off the floor. He plays as hard as anyone during the game, but you don’t hear much from him once he’s done. So leave it to his well-spoken Argentinian teammate Manu Ginobili to talk about what Scola is really like.

The San Antonio Spurs and Scola’s new team, the Phoenix Suns, have been rivals for a while now, so once the Olympics are over, Scola and Ginobili are going to have to be enemies. For now though, Ginobili has only good things to say about his buddy.

“I’ve been playing with him for 15 years, I know him very well,” Ginobili said. “He’s definitely a hard worker, a hard-nosed player. He’s going to run on every single possession. Up 20, down 20 or tied, he’s going to play. He’s going to try to play every game possible. He’s not going to rest five games because he’s tired. He’s going to try to play 82 (games), and he’s a hell of a scorer. He has so many trick shots and mid-range shots. He became just lethal from the free-throw-line area. He can give you a lot.”

Even though Scola is getting up there in years, he’s still got a lot left in the tank. He could be part of a Suns’ resurgence that reignites the rivalry with the Spurs. They have a lot of work to do after falling off the last couple of years, but they’ve made a lot of moves this offseason that have potential.

Ginobili also threw in a hilarious anecdote about Scola during his interview. During the 2006 World Championships in Japan, Scola fell to the floor and his arms were tied up so he broke the fall with his face, shattering his front teeth. Ginobili and his Argentinian teammates went back the next day to check out the damage.

“There were actually two holes in the floor where he landed,” Ginobili said. “And the floor was scratched. I mean, that’s a hard, coated floor. I’ve never seen anything like it. I had to take a picture of it. But he played that night.”

Makes you cringe just thinking about it, but it shows how tough Scola is. He and Ginobili are hoping to capture a medal in London before they return to their respective NBA teams. Then the rivalry begins.