Facundo Campazzo, natural leader of the Argentine basketball team, remarked that the albiceleste team “always” is competitive when facing different international competitions. A few days before starting the second stage of the continental classification towards the 2023 World Cup with the match against Canada for the fourth eliminatory window, the Cordovan highlighted a concept that seems filed in an old trunk of memories, based on the uneven collective performance in the Tokyo Olympics.
“When it comes to playing, Argentina is always competitive. It can win, it can lose, but the essential thing is the intention to continue generating a collective identity,” remarked the point guard whose last team was the Denver Nuggets in the NBA. The team led by Néstor ‘Che’ García from Bahia advanced uneventfully to the qualifying stage of the American tie (with a 5-1 record) and will face the start of Group E against a strong opponent, the only one to have a perfect record with an expressive 6-0.
“Competing with Canada is scary, because it has a lot of NBA players. We take that into account, but we think more about what we can generate, about what we could work on in this preparation,” insisted Campazzo, referring to the game that will be played this Thursday at 11:40 p.m. Argentine time in the city of Victoria.
For the former Peñarol de Mar del Plata and Real Madrid player, the main thing “beyond the result is to continue building a team identity.” “We continue to have as premises the extra pass, the tough defense and the creation of a collective identity that allows us to compete as equals against the different powers,” the Argentine strategist graphed in statements to AM 530 radio.
These game characteristics could be seen in the performance of the team in the 2019 China World Cup, where the runner-up after losing the final against Spain (75-95) crowned a superlative collective performance, almost bordering on perfection. For Campazzo, however, that magnificent performance in the World Cup, which allowed powers such as Serbia or France to be imposed, could have “harmed a little” the Argentine team in the following Olympic Games in Tokyo. “Therefore, that situation put a little pressure on us; the level reached in China left us with a very high bar. And that ended up having repercussions against us,” the player was honest.
Regarding his situation in the NBA, without a team at the moment, Campazzo was calm “knowing that the situation is not something that depends on me, it is not within my reach.” “Generally I am not relaxed when these types of issues arise, but in this particular case I am very calm waiting for the call of the people who work with me,” he said. “Being with the National Team in this preparation helps me a little not to think about the other thing, not to get so anxious. But I know that my agents, when there is something to communicate, will do it without any doubt and together we will choose the best alternative for my future”, concluded Campazzo.
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Campazzo: “Argentina is always competitive” | The point guard’s vision ahead of the game against the fearsome Canada