The Argentine National Team lost in its presentation against the Bahamas in the Olympic Prequalifier and now it must win yes or yes this Thursday against Cuba to advance to the semifinals of the contest that is taking place in Santiago del Estero.
The team led by Pablo Prigioni had a great start against the Bahamians and even took an 18-point lead in the first half, but the Caribbean team reacted and went ahead at halftime 55-53.
The third quarter ended up defining the game with a 27-14 run for Bahamas, who knew how to take advantage of Argentina’s limitations -especially in the internal game- and maintained their advantage until the end of the game, with a score of 101-89.
On the national side, Nicolás Brussino started with 21 points (3/5 in doubles and 5/7 in triples) and 7 rebounds; Facundo Campazzo with 18 (3/7 in doubles, 2/7 in triples, 6/10 in free), 10 assists, 7 steals and 5 turnovers; Luca Vildoza with 15 (2/5 in doubles, 2/6 in triples, 5/6 in free), 3 assists and 4 turnovers; Carlos Delfino with 10 (2/5 in doubles, 2/4 in triples) and the 23-year-old center Francisco Cáffaro with 10 (5/7 in doubles) and two blocks.
Gabriel Deck from Santiago came off the bench, recently recovered from his knee injury, with a scoresheet of 4 points (2/3 in doubles), 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 12 minutes.
No Argentine player exceeded 30 minutes of play.
As for the Bahamas, their three NBAs shone: guard Eric Gordon, from the Phoenix Suns (24 points, 3 assists and a spectacular smash at the end of the second quarter); center DeAndre Ayton, also from Phoenix (22 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks) and triple shooter Buddy Hield, from Indiana Pacers (23 points and 6 rebounds). In addition, the perimeter Travis Munnings, from French basketball, joined the quartet of scorers (20 points).
The presence of the powerful Ayton (2.11 meters and 113 kilos) was unstoppable for the National Team. With him on court, the Bahamas took a 15-point lead thanks to his notable scoring efficiency (11/16 in doubles) and his rebounding power, a category in which the Bahamas beat Argentina 40-28.
Thus, the National Team will play the ticket to the semifinals this Thursday from 10:10 p.m. against Cuba, an accessible rival, although nothing is coming easy for Prigioni’s team. The game will be played in La Banda and will be televised by TyC Sports.
It is worth remembering that Cuba lost to the Bahamas on the first date by 68-109, with which the winner this Thursday will qualify as second in the group to thus face the leader of Zone B, which for now has Chile at the top ( 4 points), followed by Uruguay (3), Colombia (3) and Virgin Islands (2).
Argentina must win the Pre-qualifier to continue with the chances of reaching the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The champion in Santiago del Estero will play an international Pre-Olympic next year against five other teams that will have a ticket to Paris as a prize.
2023-08-17 14:35:58
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