SAN ANTONIO ? Manu Ginobili isn’t afraid to flaunt his talent. When it comes to his gold medal from the Athens Olympics, it’s a different story.

He lets others do the gloating for him.

Teammate Tony Parker asked to borrow the gold medal for San Antonio’s tip-off luncheon earlier this season so he could pull a little prank. Emceeing the event before a crowd of about 1,000 sponsors and team employees, Parker summoned Spurs standout Tim Duncan, coach Gregg Popovich and forward Sean Marks to the dais.

Duncan and Popovich had been in Athens with the U.S. men’s basketball team, which wound up with the bronze medal after losing to Ginobili and Argentina in the semifinals.

“He got the photographer to come around, too, and he put on the gold medal and said ‘This is as close as you guys are ever going to get to this,'” recalled Marks, who competed for New Zealand in the Olympics.

These days, Ginobili, Duncan and Popovich are comrades rather than competitors, and each played a big part in the Spurs taking a 1-0 lead over the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.

The San Antonio Spurs gather around coach Gregg Popovich. The team worked out Friday in San Antonio in preparation for Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday.

Ginobili shot 6-for-6 in the fourth quarter and led all scorers with 26 points, and Duncan had a quiet 24 points and 17 rebounds in the Spurs’ 84-69 victory Thursday night.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday night.

Ginobili’s play might have come as a shock to those who don’t pay close attention to the NBA until the finals, but it was no surprise to anyone who has watched the steady progression of the best basketball player Argentina has ever produced.

Now in his third NBA season, Ginobili already has won an NBA title, an Olympic gold medal and a silver medal from the 2002 World Championships. He was a two-time MVP of the Italian League and the 2001 Euroleague finals MVP – quite a collection of hardware for someone only 27 years old.

“I think the consistency he shows,” Popovich said, “is there every night. It’s not once in a while, but that hellbent-for-leather sort of attitude, the willingness to take big shots, the willingness to do what it takes to win and to do it at the highest possible level of intensity, is there every single minute he steps on the court.

“I never talk to him. I never try to motivate him. I never say a word. I just watch.”

The left-hander with the shaggy dark hair and a burgeoning bald spot was Argentina’s leading scorer and best player, and his crafty style of play blended beautifully with that club’s assortment of sharpshooting big men and precision playmakers.

Ginobili plans to build some sort of a display for his gold medal, but as of yet he hasn’t done anything special with it.