VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision)  - When you talk about Argentina basketball, you can't help but speak of Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Luis Scola and the 2004 Olympic gold medal.

Sixteen years later, though, and you're also talking about Facundo Campazzo.

A magician at last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup in China, the 1.80m (5ft 11in) point guard whizzed behind-the-back passes to teammates cutting to the basket, scored with floaters and three-pointers. He left opponents befuddled and fans mesmerized.

Campazzo, who has been plying his trade in Europe since 2014, displayed his boyish enthusiasm for the game, a kind of love for basketball that every player has when he's discovered hoops and never wants to leave the court.

When did Campazzo go from behind a fun player to watch with a lot of youthful exuberance to one of his country's great players? It was in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where Campazzo took on all challenges, even the one Ginobili presented at the team's photo shoot before the start of the men's tournament.

Manu wanted to beat Facu in horse 😁!

More importantly, at those Olympics, Campazzo used his tricks, bounciness and pep not just to entertain but to win, especially in one of the most enthralling contests in the competition's history.

I'll go so far to say that at those Olympics, Campazzo became his country's main man.

It was a high-stakes game against Brazil with a spot in the Quarter-Finals on the line, and it was played on this day, August 13. Campazzo took his game to new heights.

Campazzo scored two of his 33 points against Brazil with this runner  

He scored 33 points in that 111-107 double overtime triumph for Argentina. Campazzo truly touched greatness. He's been an elite international player ever since.

That game was an intoxicating drama, with Nocioni also having one of the best games of his Argentina career by hitting eight three-pointers and pouring in 37 points.

Brazil came back from an early double-digit deficit to lead 52-44 at half-time.

In the third quarter, Campazzo dazzled with 11 points, three assists and one steal as Argentina closed the gap to 70-67, although a Marcelinho Huertas jumper gave Brazil a five-point lead heading to the fourth frame.

Brazil kept their noses in front and appeared to be closing in on victory, up 83-75 with 2:40 remaining, but Campazzo came to the rescue.

He made four free-throws and drilled a three-pointer to make it a one-point game with just 22 seconds to go.

The late magic of Campazzo spirited Argentina to the famous double OT win

Argentina fouled Marcelinho and he sank two free-throws but Nocioni forced overtime with one of his three-pointers just three seconds from the end.

When Campazzo hit two three-pointers in the first 50 seconds of the second extra period, Argentina had the lead for good at 101-95.

In addition to his 33 points, Campazzo had 11 assists and four steals. He was 10 of 12 from the free-throw line.

The victory proved to be Argentina's last in Rio. Against nemesis Spain, Argentina crashed to a 92-73 defeat and that left them with a Quarter-Final matchup against the USA, who cruised to a 105-78 win.

Even so, the victory over rivals Brazil gave Argentina fans something to cherish. It also gave them reason to believe a bright future was theirs because Campazzo. He was the real deal!

Campazzo distinguished himself as a player that could not only win big games in the country's domestic league, or in Spain with UCAM Murcia, the club he was on loan with at the time.

The game showed the country truly had a new player that it could build around as it embarked on the post-golden generation era. Manu Ginobili and Nocioni retired from the national team after the Rio Olympics and  Argentina were crying out for a player like Campazzo.

 After the win over Brazil, Scola, was asked about Campazzo and his response alluded to two things: the guard's tendency to try and do too much, but also his brilliance.

He said: "Campazzo is a very special player who sometimes you want to kill and a minute later you want to hug him."

In the four years since Rio, Campazzo has matured, cut down on mistakes and become even more dynamic. In China at the World Cup, Scola made the All-Star Five and maybe Campazzo should have, too. He was breathtaking in the Quarter-Finals against a star-studded Serbia, one of the pre-tournament favorites, with 18 points, 12 assists and three steals.

Campazzo was among his team's leaders in all statistical categories. He led Argentina in assists with 7.8 per game and in steals at 2.0 per contest. He was third in scoring at 13.3 points per game, third in rebounds at 4.3 per game and second in efficiency at 18.3 to Scola's 18.8.

Campazzo was having a terrific campaign with Real Madrid in the season that followed before it was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now the expectation is that he will play the coming season in the NBA and could even sign for Dallas and be reunited with former Real Madrid teammate Luka Doncic.

His star is still on the rise. 

Jeff Taylor
FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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