MADRID, Spain -- Manu Ginobili missed a key free throw and Spain hung on to beat Olympic champion Argentina 90-88 on Tuesday in a matchup of two sides expected to contend for the gold medal at Beijing.
World champion Spain improved to 3-0 in Olympic warmup games.
Jose Calderon led Spain with 18 points. Spain outrebounded Argentina 32-28 before nearly succumbing to a late collapse.
Ginobili missed the first of three free throws with seven seconds left and a chance to tie it at 89. The NBA guard, who scored 11 of his 18 points in the final period to rally Argentina from a 10-point deficit, hit the next two to cut it to 89-88 before Ricky Rubio sank one of his free throws for Spain.
Ginobili had a chance to tie it following a Juan Carlos Navarro turnover with 18 seconds remaining, but the Argentine missed a running layup with Rubio pressuring.
Paolo Quinteros' hopeful turnaround jumper for Argentina at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
