Argentina bank on Ginobili factor

BEIJING (Reuters) - A fit-again Manu Ginobili has given Olympic men's basketball champions Argentina a huge morale boost before the start of the Beijing Games.

The sharp-shooting San Antonio Spurs guard, a three-times NBA champion, showed no ill effects from his recent ankle injury at a workout at Beijing's state-of-the-art basketball arena on Tuesday.

"Manu's ankle is good and he is feeling well," Argentina forward Andres Nocioni told Reuters. "To have him fit again has a calming influence on the team because he's a key player for us."

The Argentines have been playing down their chances of winning a second successive Olympic title, insisting the pressure was on the United States and world champions Spain.

But Nocioni warned Argentina were on track to repeat their memorable triumph at the 2004 Athens Games.

"It's a different feeling coming in as Olympic champions," the Chicago Bulls player said. "We already have the gold medal right now and that gives us extra motivation to defend it.

"We're playing well and have had some strong practices so we're going to be ready. We're getting better and better every day. We're in a very positive mood."

"STREET SMART"

Nocioni denied Argentina were feeling any added burden as defending champions.

"There is no extra pressure on us because we're the champions," he said. "We know we have to play well. The U.S. and Spain are the best two teams in the world and if we want to win gold we know we have to go through them.

"The last two (major international) tournaments, the U.S. finished third. We play a bit more European, like Spain, with the tough defense and fast-break, than the NBA style the U.S. play but I think we can beat both of them."

Power forward Juan Pedro Gutierrez Llanas suggested that Argentina would be too "street smart" for their rivals.

"We have very high expectations," he said. "It will be a tough tournament with lots of amazing teams but we'll find a way to win."

Argentina are in Group A along with Russia, Croatia, Australia, Iran and Lithuania, who they meet in their opening game on August 10. The U.S. and Spain are in Group B.

The Americans finished third in 2004 and at the 2006 world championships but, with a team including the NBA's Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant and its leading scorer LeBron James, are slight favorites in Beijing.

Not if Nocioni has anything to do with it.

"We have experience of winning an Olympics before," he said. "We've already been there and we know how to do it. We know what it takes."

(Editing by Alex Richardson)