Ginobili takes over as Argentina still unbeaten at Worlds

SAITAMA, Japan -- Manu Ginobili scored 28 points to help make up for his team's 1-for-18 3-point shooting Saturday as Argentina beat New Zealand 79-62 in the second round of the FIBA World Championship.

The San Antonio Spurs guard made Argentina's only 3-pointer, which made it 70-58 with 3:47 remaining.

"That was the game we expected, very aggressive and physical contact on their part," said Ginobili. "But we held on and now we're in the final eight."

New Zealand pulled to within nine points in the fourth quarter before Ginobili's 3-pointer started a 12-point run for Argentina.

Argentina improved to 6-0 in the Worlds and will face the winner of the Turkey-Slovenia game in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

"I guess we have to be happy that we had a bad day today, said Ginobili. "We didn't need the 3-point shooting. We expect to get better for our next game."

Manu Ginobili scores 28 to offset the team's shooting troubles. (AP)

Ginobili had six points early in the third quarter. His two-handed dunk gave the Olympic champions a 49-35 lead and Argentina went into the fourth quarter leading 59-44.

"For our team, he's the man," said Hernandez. "He knew how well New Zealand was defending the pass so he knew he had to score a lot."

Argentina, runner-up at the 2002 Worlds in Indianapolis, got 23 points from Fabricio Oberto and 10 from Luis Scola.

Argentina was up 37-29 at the half.

Chicago Bulls forward Andres Nocioni, who was a perfect 5-for-5 from the 3-point line in Argentina's 98-64 win over Nigeria in the first round, missed all five of his 3-point attempts.

"The basket just closed on us and it became complicated, but we were able to get over it in other ways," said Nocioni. "New Zealand is a tough team. They give a lot of problems to their opponents and we had trouble for a while, but we were able to win with experience and being calm."

After the game, New Zealand's American coach Tab Baldwin stepped down.

"I just think it's time," said Baldwin, who was New Zealand coach for six years. "If anyone thinks I did a good job it's because of these guys and their willingness to do what I asked them."

New Zealand was 2-3 in the preliminary round.

New Zealand got 14 points from Mark Dickel, who was suspended by FIBA for 10 days following a positive drug test. Dickel, who tested positive for cannabis last month, missed New Zealand's first three games of the preliminary round.