SENDAI -- Argentina, Nigeria and Lebanon all scored victories in Group A action on the opening day of the FIBA World Championship here on Saturday.
Defending Olympic champion Argentina, led by shooting guard Manu Ginobili, capitalized on the absence of France's Tony Parker, who was ruled out of the tournament on Friday with a broken index finger on his right hand, by posting an 80-70 victory before a crowd of 5,200.
The much-anticipated showdown between the two backcourt teammates on the San Antonio Spurs got shortcircuited on the eve of the event when France was forced to drop Parker -- an NBA All-Star this season -- after he injured himself in a warmup game against Brazil in China earlier this week.