MAR DEL PLATA (Argentina) – Argentina notched an extremely important victory in their attempt to qualify for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, defeating Bahamas, 95-77, in a tough game Monday night at the Polideportivo Islas Malvinas in Mar del Plata.

Despite an encouraging start aided by the home crowd’s fervor, Argentina went cold in the second quarter – opening the door for Bahamas to erase their deficit and take the lead going into the half.

It was a fascinating inside duel between Kai Jones and Gabriel Deck early on, which each one punishing their rival in the opposite basket as their teammates contributed to the stalemate with uncharacteristically quiet starts.

Buddy Hield went scoreless in the first quarter before popping off for 8 second-quarter points. Facundo Campazzo remained scoreless all the way until halftime, as Deck and José Vildoza carried the offense for Nestor “Che” García’s squad.

The second half was a completely different story.

Campazzo, currently a free agent after a couple of seasons in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets, showed his best version – wreaking havoc defensively and pushing the pace both to score and set his teammates up.

The speedy point guard kickstarted a run that put Argentina back in control of the game in the third quarter and never lifted his foot off the gas as the South Americans extended their lead to high double-digits.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Campazzo, who shined for Peñarol de Mar del Plata at the beginning of his career before heading over to Real Madrid.

He finished with a 17-point, 10-assist double-double and added three rebounds and three steals for good measure, as Argentina got back to its identity of disciplined defense and beautiful ball movement.

Campazzo formed a lethal pair with Deck, who scored a game-high 37 points. The Bahamian defense simply had no answer for the Real Madrid star, who shot 14/19 from the field and 9/13 at the free throw line.

Also instrumental to the cause was guard Vildoza, who scored 9 of his 11 points in the second quarter. His trio of three-pointers was much need during Argetina’s worst stretch of the game.

As for Chris Demarco’s Bahamas squad, they just couldn’t get enough production out of their NBA stalwarts.

Hield was held to 10 points on 4/11 from the field in 33 minutes and committed 8 turnovers.

Jones led the team with 16 points and 8 rebounds but was unable to protect the rim as Argentina 52 points in the paint to Bahamas’ 28.

Marcos Delía was a big part of that, scoring 16 points on 8/9 from the field and chipping in 6 rebounds.

Guard Garvin Clarke shot 3/8 from beyond the arc for 12 points, while Mychel Thompson added 11 points and 7 rebounds for the Caribbean nation, who shot a respectable 47.5 percent from the field but coughed the ball up 21 times – resulting in 29 Argentinian points.

García’s squad took care of business and remains in 3rd place in Group E with a 6-2 record at the conclusion of Window 4. Bahamas currently occupies the last place in the group, tied with Panama at 2-6.

FIBA