"As Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has helped his Argentine national team qualify for the semifinals of the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament, he has kept track of two situations thousands of miles from here: the NBA lockout and teammate Tony Parker's pursuit of an Olympic berth for his French team.

Thus far, it has been much more enjoyable for Ginobili to read about Parker's exploits for France in the Eurobasket tournament in Lithuania than to follow the progress, or lack of, in the labor talks..

The unquestioned leader of one of the best international teams of the past dozen years, Ginobili and four of his NBA colleagues have remained focused on the competition at Malvinas Argentinas Arena while receiving details on the state of negotiations for the lockout imposed by the league on July 1.

As important as the tournament is to Ginobili, Luis Scola (Houston Rockets), Andres Nocioni (Philadelphia 76ers), Carlos Delfino (Milwaukee Bucks) and Fabricio Oberto, the lockout never is far from their thoughts in this resort town on the Atlantic coast, some 300 miles northeast of Ginobili's hometown of Bahia Blanca."