Scola talked about houston rockets, nba finals, tennis, his plan for this summer... It's in spanish. My spanish is not good. I know many people here can speak spanish well. Hopefully, someone can transate it for us. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1138902
says he's following tennis more now, even more than soccer, but he still a mess when trying to play it... he thinks Kobe is the best player in the NBA at this moment, but thinks lebron who's only 24 will surpass him soon.... says the domincan republic wants to convince Ariza to play for them in the Pan Am games....if he goes, along with Horford, francisco garcia, and villanueva, there going to have one hell of a team. says he was doing some mandatory NBA work at the time the US open was going on in NY and he took the opportunity to watch some matches and he was also at the Houston Open this year...it was the game he followed the most at the olympics....loves federer, follows Del Potro....watched the Davis cup on TV... says they use to play playstation tournaments in the argentina camp and Nadal use to come over to play (it was Scola's own playstation), Nadal is a playstation fanatic and he's come over... says artest is a normal guy, this year he as on his best behavior, there's nothing (bad) to say about him, he's a good teammate....Yao is one of my friends ont he team, asks the media id they know he's deaf in one ear...says he's also good friends with barry, shane...but in general there's a very good vibe within the whole group, says there's no one that is hated or someone you can't stand... says he's going to china to promote Anta shoes, will probably go back later on his own with friends to vacation...says he requested special colored Antas with the Arg. flag for when he plays with the national team...that one day he's going to have to say no to them, but not yet... leaves the reporters when he realizeds their is 7 mins left in the orl-LA game...at the end he says he thought Orlando would win, but now LA will be the champion. (not sure what game of the finals this was, seems to be game 4)
Here is my translation. I am Puerto Rican and I am not accustomed to some of the terms Argentinians use. It should be an accurate translation however. "Now I am following tennis a lot; aside from football even. But playing Im a disaster(i think he is talking about soccer)", says Luis Scola, sitting at the head of a large table full of reporters and businessmen, while at the same time tv screens show the images of the 4th game of the NBA finals in HD, the new tv system that DirecTV promotes and that motivated the reunion with the Houston forward. An informal encounter, very friendly and rich in stories told by Luis, that was extended even to the early hours yesterday due to the extended time that the Lakers and Orlando played. "This type of reunions are very common in the NBA. They always call us for promotions like this one", he adds. (Dont know what "distendido" means) And even though he appears distant from what happens in the Amway Arena in Florida he appears to be well informed in his observations. "Day to day Kobe Bryant is the best player in the NBA, but i think Lebron James, being only 24, will be better soon", he says while everyone pays attention. He then analyzes: "Dominicana(The Dominican Republic?) wants to convince Trevor Ariza to play in the Premundial de Puerto Rico. If Al Horford, Charlie Villanueva, Francisco Garcia and Ariza go, they will have a great team". There is no possibility of sustaining a fixed conversation for any amount of time, there are 20 people asking questions jumping over each other. And Scola does not appear bothered or annoyed. (The next sentence is an idiomatic expression and I couldnt determine for sure what i means) "When the US Open was played i was there in New York during an obligatory course from the NBA and i took the chance to watch various games. I was also in the Open in Houston of this year. It was the sport that I followed the most in the years of the Olympic Games. I like Federer, follow Del Potro, watched the entire final with Davis of Spain on tv and was even playing Playstation tournaments with Nadal in the Pekin Argentinian (concentration? Im sure im not supposed to translate that literally) And the Play was mine. Nadal is a Play fanatic and he would come to our building. (Play here must be the Playstation) "Is Artest difficult like they paint him?", "Tell us something about Yao", "Who are your friends in the team?" The usual questions are repeated...(Not sure what "acribillar" means). "Artest is a normal guy and this year behaved very well, I have nothing to say. He is a good teammate... Yao is one of my friends. Did you know he is deaf on one ear? Let me see, I can tell you... from the right ear i think." He surprises us by continuing: "Friends, aside from Yao, I have Brent Barry and Shane Battier. But in general there is a good "wave" in the team. There is nobody that you can say <<I dont like that guy>>, he confesses with problems. Its the turn of the "indumentaria deportiva(sports clothes?)" and of his annual visits to China to promote his Anta shoes that he uses in the NBA. "For sure i will return there in these months. With some friends, to enjoy the trip. This is my last year with Anta. They are shoes that bear my name and my shirt number. They fit them to my size. Now I asked for entirely white and entirely black ones, with the logo in "celeste", to use in the "seleccionado(referring to the Argentinian team i believe)" I hope that they satisfy me with that: I asked them for to make them with the Argentinian flag", he reveals. It is well known: Luis is the number 1 to say yes to the national team. "But one day I wont be able to and Ill have to say no", scaring people, just before the "NOooooo!" from the assistants. 7 minutes are left in the regular time of the Lakers vs. Orlando. "Excuse me, Im moving closer", he says and disappears to a chair just 2 meters from the tv. He doesnt want to miss any details. An spectacular ending nears and you can hear Luis say "Uh!" when Derek Fisher sinks a three and Dwight Howard gets fouled hard. The night ends and Scola laments a little having failed in his prognostication. "I thought Orlando would win", and he concludes "Now the Lakers are champions. The richness of the anecdotes told in the reunion with Scola allowed for the most insolent("insolitas" might mean "surprising", i dont remember) questions. "Does Toyota still give cars as gifts to Houston players?, they asked him, associating the name of the stadium with the auto brand and the team. "No, its a shame[laughs]. In fact: I have one in the competition", says Luis smiling.
i think he meant he's a disaster playing tennis, and football=soccer i couldn't either, either a reference to soccer or basketball, seems like they're saying he answered them like a pro, easily, like hitting a deep shot nothing but net or kicking a goal and hitting just the net? Pekin is in China, i think he's refering to where the Argentinian teams were concentrated in china during the olympics, like their area in the olympic village, not sure if they still have that though (the village) that should be without any problem, prob a typo, but i know someone is going to ask about it later i completely missed this last part
Thank both RV6 and daernoth for the translation! Scola has good personality! I agree with that Toyota should give cars to the rockets players!
Thanks for the translation guys. Scola plays for the national team every year and never gets injured. Yao on the other hand is always injured, Yao playing for the Chinese team is not the reason he gets injured every year, its the NBA grind and his size that puts stress on his feet and knees.
Yes he said he was following tennis now more than he follows soccer although he sucks playing it (referring to playing tennis).
Scola has only played in the NBA two season while Yao been playing a full year for a while now. Obviously the NBA is much more of a grind but playing full year does not help his case. His size clearly does not help either but most players would start to wear down as well.
Scola said in an older interview this month that he plays for the NT all years not because he feels he is entirely needed rather than because he enjoys it a lot and helps his game a lot. He said that his game suffers a lot if he spends long periods of time without playing because he depends a lot on the feel of the game, and playing in the summer helps him keep his rythm.
Yao was very durable in his first three seasons but he's never had significant time off to fully recover from his injuries/surgeries. When a player is chronically injured sometimes it's just their body telling them they need to rest.
Well, we'll see. I would place money on the fact that a rested Yao would be able to get through a whole season (all the way to a finals championship) if a tired Yao was able to at least make it halfway through the second round.
