In a radio interview earlier this week, Manu Ginobili was confident that the NBA players on Argentina's national team would be able to find insurance so that they could play in pre-Olympic qualifying in August.

"Insurances will be achieved," he said. "The question is at how much and at what conditions. There are many countries that have NBA players, but I don't doubt we will all be there."

Australia has all but ruled out Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut because of the high cost of insurance he would require but they have announced that Trail Blazers point guard Pat Mills, is in the 24-man ‘Golden Star’ Australian Boomers squad for their upcoming Gold Coast training camp from July 25-29.

Australia will play New Zealand in the FIBA Oceania Championship later this summer with the winner advancing to the London Games.

Washington Wizards’ power forward Yi Jianlian will join the Chinese national team for the Continental Cup tournament to be played in Haining and Guangzhou from August 1-9.

Defending champions Australia, Russia and Angola, as well as China will take part in the Haining leg from Aug 1-4.  New Zealand will replace Australia to join Russia, Angola and the hosts play in Guangzhou from Aug 6-9.

Both legs will feature a round-robin format first with the top two teams playing the final, and the other two playing the 3rd place playoff.

Yi will join the Chinese squad following the completion of the second leg of a four-nation tournament to be held in Yongcheng, Henan province, on Sunday.

Suns swingman Mickael Pietrus  will undergo minor right knee surgery Tuesday, and as a result will not follow through with plans to play for France in the European Championship starting Aug. 31.

Pietrus missed the final 12 games of the season because of a quadriceps-tendon strain near the same knee, an issue that seemed to start when he landed after an attempted blocked shot on March 23. Pietrus' agent, Bill McCandless, said Pietrus was mentioning discomfort with the knee before he was traded from Orlando in December. At his recent camp in Guadeloupe, friends were telling McCandless that Pietrus was not moving well.

"I'm looking at it extremely positively," McCandless said. "I know the player well and I sensed something wasn't right. He's not a complainer."

Pietrus took a physical upon arrival for France's camp, but the national team recommended he undergo surgery to remove loose cartilage. He is expected to be out of basketball action for four weeks.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka has been granted Spanish nationality, clearing the way for him to help Spain defend its European championship this summer.

Ibaka must swear loyalty to the Spanish crown and constitution to finalize the process after Spain’s Council of Ministers approved his petition for nationality on Friday.

The 21-year-old was born in the Republic of Congo but played for Spanish clubs for three years before moving to the NBA in 2009. According to Spanish media reports, he maintains a residence in Barcelona.

France had hoped to have Phoenix Suns sharpshooter Mickael Pietrus in their squad this summer when they attempt to qualify for the London Games but the country’s basketball federation have ruled him out on medical grounds.

All of the players in the French preliminary squad have been given medical examinations at the INSEP in Paris this week, including Pietrus, a 29-year-old swingman who has been hindered by a wrist injury in the past.

The French Basketball Federation said: “Following several medical examinations carried out at the beginning of preparations and after consulting the medical staff of Team France, Mickael Pietrus will not play at EuroBasket 2011 for medical reasons.”

Tony Parker and the rest of France's NBA stars were on hand as the national team got together at the national sports institute in Paris on Tuesday to open their preparations for EuroBasket.

The one notable absentee from Vincent Collet's 15-man squad is Mickael Gelabale, who is in the Antilles following the death of his father. The swingman is expected to join his teammates in due time.

NBA stars Parker, along with Joakim Noah, Nicolas Batum, Boris Diaw, Mickael Pietrus and Ronny Turiaf are all on hand for the training camp.

Dimitris Diamantidis is standing by his decision not to play for Greece this summer when the national team tries to qualify for the London Games.

The 31-year-old point guard was a notable absentee from the squad that is to begin preparing for the EuroBasket in Lithuania, a group of players announced by new coach Ilias Zouros.

There was speculation veteran playmaker Theo Papaloukas would feature for the first time since the Beijing Games but he, too, is not among those named by Zouros.

Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah is scheduled to leave for France on Monday to begin preparation for a stint with Team France in the European Championships in Lithuania, according to a source close to the situation.

Noah, who has dual U.S. and French citizenship, is expected to be overseas for the next two months as the NBA lockout carries on.

France opens play in the European Championships on Aug. 31 against Latvia. The tournament runs through Sept. 18.

Raptors lottery pick Jonas Valanciunas carried Lithuania over Serbia 85-67 at the FIBA U19 World Championships in Latvia, scoring 36 points, adding eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

Valanciunas has now led his country to the gold medal at the European U16 and U18 tournaments and now, the world U19, earning tournament MVP each time, believed to be an unprecedented feat.

He led this event in scoring (23 per game), rebounding (13.9), blocks (3.2), double-doubles (seven in nine games for 7-2 Lithuania) and was second in field goal percentage to Canada’s Dyshawn Pierre.