Basketball: Emanuel Ginóbili and his unique debut as a coach

After shining for 16 seasons in the NBA and leaving an indelible mark on world basketball , Emanuel Ginóbili returned to the spotlight.

Away from the field since his retirement in 2018, "Manu" took on a new challenge: coaching a team of Spanish-speaking content creators that faced an American team in a special event.

The event, titled YouTube Basketball Stars , took place this Friday and brought together prominent figures from the digital world. The Hispanic team, led by Uruguayan Fede Vigevani (one of the most-followed YouTubers in the region with more than 66,000,000 subscribers), managed to recruit Manu as their head coach for this particular competition.

Among the players on Vigevani's team, names such as Ibai Llanos, Fernanfloo, Duki, Germán Garmendia, Ricky Limón, Ian Lucas, Elvis Ude and Eladio Carrión stood out.

At the front were the team led by MrBeast , the most important English-speaking content creator, whose channel has an exorbitant 360 million followers .

MrBeast included Mark Rober, Chandler Hallow, the Stokes brothers (Alex and Alan), FaZe Rug, Marlon Lundgren and Nick Nayersina in its ranks.

The match was broadcast live this Friday on Vigevan i's YouTube channel, and featured an explosive mix of sports, entertainment, and digital culture. With Ginóbili's presence as coach, the match took on added appeal and became a bridge between generations , where the basketball legend contributed his experience to an innovative, millennial-inspired game.

Ginóbili quickly joined in the fun of the event and even joked before the match about what his role would be. “I don't really know what I'm doing here either. But it's a good experience, and I love seeing your enthusiasm. I saw you shooting hoops and training,” he said with a laugh in an interview with Vigevani. The Uruguayan is one of the YouTubers who organized the game, which had peak viewership figures exceeding one and a half million. He also has more than 67 million subscribers on his personal YouTube channel.

At the same time, Manu added: "It's going to be my first experience as a coach. I'm making my debut as a coach. Maybe I'm a little nervous, but I'm happy to be here . Sports are always a good excuse to stay healthy, strong, and make friends and connect. Sports are always a solution and serve to connect worlds," said the 47-year-old from Bahía Blanca, who had gotten into the mood for the event.

In his presentation, he joked in his first communication with his players: "I hope you're ready, that you're training because we have to win this game . I don't like losing against the United States . So, Mr. Beast, here we go."

The guard from Bahía Blanca played numerous matches against the United States, including both victories against the Dream Team: the 2002 Indianapolis World Cup and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

But this time they weren't so lucky, as the American team ended up winning 65-55 . The game consisted of four eight-minute quarters.