Argentina awaits Lakers-Spurs showdown

Tonight's NBA Western conference finals matchup: L.A.'s Lakers versus Argentina's Spurs.

At least that's the way it reads from South America. The Lakers shouldn't expect a lot of love from el cono sur.

Home-team status goes to defending champion San Antonio and its two Argentine players -- guard Emanuel "Manu'' Ginobili and center Fabricio Oberto. The crucial role in recent years of Ginobili, Argentina's Mr. Basketball, has spawned a fanatical Spurs following. Many San Antonio games are televised locally; fans eagerly download others from the Internet.

But don't expect the matriarch of the first family of Argentine basquet to be tube-side this evening.

"I don't watch -- it puts me in a bad way,'' Raquel Ginobili told Radio Mitre's Ernesto Tenembaum after the Spurs put away the Hornets on Monday, thanks in part to 26 points from her son's left hand. (Click here for coverage from Clarin plus a link to the interview with Ginobili's mother.) "He plays with some big people, and they could smash him at any moment. .... I'm more at ease not knowing.''

Her eldest son, Leandro, provides color commentary on TV broadcasts, often lambasting baby brother for bonehead plays. Middle son Sebastian is playing for Argentina’s national championship. Of her NBA superstar offspring, she said: "In everything he does he wants to be the best. And I think that's how he got to where he is.''

-- Patrick J. McDonnell and Andres D'Alessandro in Buenos Aires.

Photo:  The Spurs' Manu Ginobili after draining a three-point shot during playoff game 6 against New Orleans in San Antonio. (Bob Pearson/EPA).