Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Andres Noćioni, Pepe Sanchez, Fabrizio Oberto and many other masters in sky blue jerseys not so long ago made Argentines love basketball more than football, at least for a moment.
The golden generation of this country was one step away from the world crown in 2002 (defeated by Yugoslavia in the final of the World Championship), and two years later, at the sacred Olympic site of Athens, it "bite" the gold medal.
Today, twenty years later, the reality is much different, more gloomy... In just a few months, Argentina was left without a place in the Mundobasket, and two nights ago, without the Olympic Games in Paris next year.
In February, Facundo Campaco and company failed to get past the Dominican Republic to reach the World Cup, and now they have been eliminated by the Bahamas in the Olympic pre-qualifiers.
Thus, after 41 years, Argentina was left without a planetary championship, while it will not be at the Games for the first time since 2000.
"Our reality is this - we don't have NBA players, but we have good basketball players in Europe. We have to focus on young players and their growth," said coach Pablo Priggioni after the loss to the Bahamas.
In addition to the second place at the Mundobasket in 2002 and the gold at the Olympic Games in Athens, Argentina also won a bronze Olympic medal in Beijing in 2008, and just four years ago they played in the grand final at the World Championship.
Campazzo, Gabriel Dek, Nikola Laprovitola, Luka Vildosa and other "gauchos" are obviously far from the class of guys from the beginning of the story.
Bahamas - NBA trio for dreams in the Caribbean
Phoenix Suns tandem Deandre Ayton and Eric Gordon, as well as Indiana Pacers' young guard Buddy Hield - the Bahamas today are anything but basketball outsiders.
Perhaps the triumph of this Caribbean selection over Argentina is a surprise for many, but the Bahamas are dreaming of a sensational placement at the Olympic Games.
There is still a qualifying tournament separating them from Paris, but even if they fail this time, Chris Demark's (assistant coach of the Golden State Warriors) boys should finally be able to qualify for one of the big competitions in the future.
Bonus video:
