The love-hate relationship of Bazarevich and Campazzo

WUHAN (China) - Not often do you hear a coach single out an opposing player as their main threat. Not often does a coach admit to being a big fan of that player. Not often does a player return the favor with a big win on the court.

"I am a personal fan of Facundo Campazzo. Because he plays with such poise and heart, it's unbelievable," Sergey Bazarevich said before his Russian squad faced off with Campazzo's Argentina.

Both teams had secured a passage to the Second Round before the game, but with their records being carried over to the next phase, you could say that the final game in Wuhan had Quarter-Final implications, and a capacity crowd was treated to an instant classic.

Argentina opened up the game with an alley-oop to Patricio Garino. Russia responded by going big, with Andrey Zubkov becoming a small forward and the tall lineup got Russia in front. But in a chess match of its own, Sergio Hernandez had a counter for every Bazarevich move - Gabriel Deck, Nicolas Laprovittola, and obviously the energy bolt Campazzo were gambling on the passing lanes and playing just a little bit riskier than before.

The risk paid off. An 18-0 run saw Argentina take control of the game. However, Russia did not lose the queen, just a couple of bishops, which meant that Bazarevich still had some tricks up his sleeve to put Argentina's win in doubt. In fact, out of nowhere, the Russians called "check" when they had the momentum on their side, making it back to a two-point game with 39 seconds to play.

But Campazzo, breaking the heart of his fan Bazarevich, decided to respond with a checkmate hit. A trademark floater to make it a two-possession game, followed by stellar defense to force a Russian turnover on the next possession, followed by a pair of free throws, followed by a behind-the-back assist for the game to end the way it started - with a Garino dunk.

A 69-61 win sends Argentina to the next group with a 3-0 record, in perfect position to attack the knockout stage. As for Bazarevich, we had to check in on his feeling about Campazzo 21 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds later.

"It was up to his level. He played really good," Russian coach said with a smile, skipping the part of question which was "are you still a fan of Campazzo."

"It's a great pleasure that he said (he was a fan of mine). He is a coach who did a great job against us, played really smart against us. They put in place a defensive scheme difficult for us to figure out," the 28-year-old point guard was in good mood after a big win. "And he is certainly a coach that I respect very much."

Facu is earning fans left and right here in China, number of them waiting for him around the tunnel to the locker room once he received his TCL Player of the Game award. He shook hands, waved to those who were around, and patiently responded to all the media questions in the process.

Like the one about Argentina now being a medal lock. Because every time that Argentina and Russia faced off in the World Cup or the Olympics, the winner of their duel would go on to win a medal - Russia in 1994 and 2012, Argentina in 2002 and 2008.

"I don't want to think about that. Let's proceed step by step, just play this way," he added in a mixture of Spanish and English, but perfectly understandable.

We don't mind it. As long as he keeps on playing the way he did in the First Round, he can speak whatever language he wants, and we'll still be his huge fans. Probably bigger than Bazarevich is, since Wednesday night.

FIBA