MIAMI (United States) – Facundo Campazzo and Gabriel Deck came to the rescue as Argentina defeated Panama (101-75) on Monday to secure a spot in the next round of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Americas Qualifiers. The Real Madrid duo combined for 50 of their country’s 101 points to help Argentina recover after their historic loss to Uruguay on Friday, when Argentina scored an Americas Qualifiers all-time low of 44 points.
The pair joined the squad over the weekend due to their Euroleague commitments and got off to a strong start. They opened a double-digit lead for the South Americans. Panama fought valiantly throughout the night, but Argentina led 36:32 of the 40 minutes of action. It was a special occasion for Campazzo, who reached 100 games with the national team after making his debut in 2012. The speedy point guard, who represented Argentina at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, already won gold at the FIBA AmeriCup 2022 and silver at the FIBA World Cup in 2019. He’s now the eighth player to appear in at least 100 games with Argentina and is No. 2 among active players behind center Marcos Delía (106). The players ahead of him are members of Argentina’s basketball royalty: Luis Scola, Leo Gutiérrez, Andrés Nocioni, Marcelo Milanesio, Rubén Wolkowyski and Manu Ginobili.
Playing in front of his home crowd at Estadio Obras Sanitarias in Buenos Aires, Campazzo went 8-for-17 from the field and a hot 6-for-12 from beyond the arc. He added 10 assists, 3 rebounds and a steal in a little over 30 minutes of action. He already played a part in Argentina’s two victories over Cuba during the first window. His country is 3-0 with him on the floor in these Qualifiers, enough to punch their ticket to the next round before they even play their last 2 games against Uruguay and Panama.
FIBA