Southern American basketball rivals (ditto for soccer) Brazil and Argentina faced off in the FIBA World Cup Round of 16 and the outcome was bittersweet.

Argentina was the proud basketball team that broke the cloak of invincibility that an NBA powered Team USA had. Since the professionals started to represent the Stars N' Stripes, it was undefeated for a decade until that fateful day in 2002 when it faced an Argentina team that 'were not at all intimidated.'

That team was led by Manu Ginobili but eventually other members of the team made the NBA. Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni and Fabricio Oberto eventually had NBA careers.

Other additions to the team that also made the NBA are Pablo Prigioni, Walter Herrmann and Carlos Delfino. They were part of the 2004 Athens Olympics gold medal team that earned their era the title of "Golden Generation."

The Americans eventually regrouped and reclaimed basketball dominance via the "Redeem Team" in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. At this time, a new basketball power emerged in Spain but the Argentina team continued to be a force to reckon with.

But in 2014, the best years of the Golden Generation may have passed. SB Nation reports on their defeat at the hands of South American rival Brazil:

"Argentina's Golden Generation may have played its final game. Luis Scola and company led for most of the first half, but Brazil took control with a run late in the third quarter, turning a three-point halftime deficit into a double-digit lead. Argentina tried responding in the fourth quarter, but Brazil was on too much of a roll and eventually pulled away. Brazil scored 52 points in the second half after just 33 in the first half.

That Brazil ended Argentina's run is especially painful. The two have battled for South American supremacy for years, with Brazil rising after Argentina took the world by storm in 2002 and 2004. Legendary coach Ruben Magnano, who led Argentina to gold in the 2004 Olympics, switched to Brazil in 2010, adding fuel to the rivalry.

If this is it for the remaining members of the Golden Generation, they will be remembered as a group that changed international basketball. Before they burst onto the scene, it looked like nobody could beat the United States. By doing so twice, Argentina showed other countries that the gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world wasn't as wide as many initially thought."

It only takes one brave child to stand up to a bully. Argentina's Golden Generation will forever be remembered as the team that took that role. It will take some time before Argentina will be a force again after the remnants of the Golden era retire, but their legacy of proudly wearing the sky blue stripes on the hardcourt will not be forgotten even for a second.