Argentina vs. Brazil: Manu Ginobili Will Put an End to Brazilians' Medal Hopes

After a delightful little aperitif of preliminary round play, hoops fan are starving for the London Summer Olympics' main course.

The matchup between Spain and France should be a good one, but the most enticing offering of the quarterfinals may be the Latin American throwdown between Brazil and Argentina. Given the "win or go home" implications of these elimination games, let's just say the Brazilian team should start packing its bags.

Tiago Splitter, Anderson Varejao and Nene Hilario have combined to form a dangerous rotation in the paint, but it hasn't been productive enough to make Brazil a legitimate medal contender. Nor has leading scorer Leandro Barbosa's 15 points per contest.

Don't let Brazil's 4-1 record deceive you.

But for a 39-point blowout of China (Group B's complementary target practice), Brazil didn't win a game by more than six points.

Though Argentina finished preliminary play with only a 3-2 record, that outcome similarly deserves some context.

Argentina's three victories came by an average of 20 points. Its losses came to the United States and France.

This may not be the finest team Argentina has fielded, but it has one thing all the other's don't: Manu Ginobili.

The 35-year-old may no longer get the attention he deserves with the San Antonio Spurs, but he's the lifeblood of this Argentinian team. His penchant for hitting off-balance shots and contested three-pointers gives his team a chance on any given night.

His passing ability gives his teammates the chance to help.

Ginobili averaged 20 points through his five preliminary games, but he also tacked on six rebounds, two steals and nearly five assists per game. He also shot the ball at a nearly 52 percent clip in the process.

To be sure, Manu isn't the only reason the Argentinians are primed to take this game. Power forward Luis Scola and swingman Carlos Delfino have done their parts as well.

But so long as the multi-talented shooting guard is playing at this level, few teams could plausibly stop Argentina. Even Team USA struggled to do so through a first half that ended with the Argentinians trailing by just one point.

Though the third quarter proceeded to get woefully out of hand, Argentina made quite the statement for those first 20 minutes.

It will take some solace in knowing that Brazil simply isn't capable of exploding for 42 points in a quarter. It will be lucky to score 42 points in a half.

Even if it does, though, it won't be lucky enough to stop Ginobili. This may not be Argentina's year to bring home the gold medal, but it's not going home at all just yet.