00:00I've got it. I want to expand on something that you said yesterday. Do you believe Argentina was given the
00:07yellow brick road to this final? And what I mean by that is, do you believe that it seems like,
00:14you know, that they carved out a road for Argentina and Messi to get to this final?
00:20Are you in that camp that you believe that the FIBA folks did that and made it an easier path
00:25for them to get here?
00:28The reality is that it's very hard to believe that Argentina, in their way to their second final in a
00:34row, had one of the easiest group stages that I've seen in a long, long time for a champion.
00:39They did not face any top 25 teams for the first five games of their journey. Not only that, many
00:46of those teams were way below the 50, 70, and even 100 level team.
00:53So, it is hard to prove that this is happening with an organized effort to get Argentina to the final.
00:59These players still have to play the game.
01:01These players still have to, you know, endure the kicking and endure the fouls and, you know, endure the emotional
01:08stress of being down on the scorecard.
01:10But to be honest, also, the bracket that they landed for the playoffs of this tournament was also the easiest
01:17path.
01:18So, if you see the reality that, yes, Argentina had a very, very easy, easy, easy, pretty girl parking road
01:25to the final, my friend.
01:27From there, to say that there's an organized effort, that's hard to prove, but also, it lends itself for that
01:38perspective, for that opinion, if you will.
01:45Because the reality is that there were uncalled fouls, there were controversial calls in the favor of Argentina, and things
01:52are adding up.
01:53So, that's why I see a lot of animosity against Argentina in this final.
01:58I remember last year they were the heroes, they were the unspoken heroes of the people, the little team, and
02:05now they seem to be the preferred team of the system.
02:08So, with that perception, I think a lot of people are waiting on them to lose today, but it is,
02:14like, you know, in this business of betting, it is hard to bet against Messi.
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