Argentina marks close of Ourense with third straight loss

Juan Carlos Navarro of Spain (Photo credit: FIBA)Photo Gallery>>(BEIJING, July 28) -- The Athens gold medal-winning Argentina Men's Basketball team lost its third consecutive friendly match to 2006 World Champion Spain, 87-62, in the final game of the Torneo de Ourense in Spain.

Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro was the high scorer for the game with 16 points, while Jose Manuel Calderon had 15.

Spain had four players contribute double digit scores, including 17-year-old Ricky Rubio who had 11.

Argentina's mainstay Emanuel Ginobili contributed only five points in the 15 minutes he played. Four different Argentina players, including Chicago Bulls star small forward Andres Nocioni, were slapped with technical fouls.

Spain also took Argentina 88-83 in a July 23 match before traveling to Ourense, and Lithuania beat the gold medal team 94-75.

Argentina will begin competition in the FIBA Diamond Ball for Men in Nanjing, China, playing Iran on July 29 and Serbia on July 31. The finals of the tournament will be played on August 1.