Argentinian point guard Pablo Prigioni, who recently signed with the New York Knicks, missed Thursday’s win over Tunisia with kidney stones. Prigioni reportedly started feeling pain at practice on Wednesday and team doctor Diego Grippo ran a number of blood and urine tests.
"We've ruled out an infection and we confirmed he has little stones in his urinary tract," said Grippo. "He won't have to go through surgery as the stones will probably pass naturally. If that happens, he can play again."
Now, I’ve never had a kidney stone but I’ve been with someone while they had one, and it looked like no picnic. The pain looked excruciating but I will say, once they passed through the system, it was like being back to normal. So hopefully, the 35-year-old Prigioni can pass his stones and take some time to rest and be back for Argentina.
Argentina’s next game is against Nigeria, so he probably shouldn’t rush himself back for that one, but on Monday, the Argentinians take on the Americans. Argentina will surely need every bit of help they can get if they want to have a shot at playing the U.S. team close like they did in the exhibition game before the Olympics started.
Prigioni averaged 8 points, 7 assists and 2.5 steals in the first two games of the Olympics. Not super amazing stats, but he’s an invaluable part of the Argentinian team. Prigioni is not the kind of guy that lights up the scoreboard, but he is a smart point guard that runs a good offense and does a great job of keeping his team together.
The Argentinians are 2-1 and should advance out of pool play as one of the final eight teams, but they’ll need to be at full strength and playing their best if they want to have a shot at a medal.
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August 04, 2012
