BEIJING (China) - There aren't a lot of basketball players who felt better on the courts in China.
Luis Scola, the unstoppable force people accidentally kept mistaking for a basketball player, had brilliant runs both with the national team at the 2008 Olympics and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, as well as with the Shanxi Brave Dragons and Shanghai Sharks in the CBA.
While he sits courtside nowadays as the FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2026 Ambassador, we could swear we saw flashes of him in action on Day 1 of the event, as Boca Juniors ran away in an 88-78 win over the Beijing Royal Fighters.
You can't unsee it, actually. Big guy from Argentina, long hair waving around, the nicest, well-versed person off the court, and a menace with elite footwork and sheer power on the court.
That's what Francisco Caffaro brought to the table as the team captain for the Basketball Champions League Americas winners, putting together an efficient 17-point, 10-rebound double-double in just 23 minutes of work, done on 5-of-7 field goal shooting and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
Of course, the 26-year-old knew Luis Scola was in attendance.
"Luis Scola means... Everything, I guess," Caffaro told us before the event.
"They're the Golden Generation. Obviously there's 12 pieces to a puzzle when it comes to basketball, but he was one of the main pieces, and obviously the Generación Dorada means everything to Argentinian basketball."
The fact that we're comparing the playing styles of Caffaro and Scola is legit. Not saying they are at the same level -- few people in the world will achieve Scola's level, to be fair -- but you can see Francisco modeled his game after Luis.
"Luis Scola means everything."
"The career that he had, both in the NBA and Europe, I mean, what he did, he is one of the greatest FIBA players ever, and obviously a five-man, a little bit of four as well, I looked up to him when I first started playing basketball. It'll be great to see him and, and get to talk to him," Caffaro explained.
Caffaro was born in 2000, when Scola was already a professional player, starting his reign at Baskonia in Spain. Incredible to think the two of them were teammates 21 years later at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
"I was lucky enough to actually play with him in the Olympics in Tokyo, 2021, when he retired. I'm excited to see him, and it means a lot to have one of our guys be a representative of this tournament."
Francisco has the Tokyo photo of Luis Scola leaving the court one last time as a player framed back home, the one showing his gigantic frame leaving the arena with the ball in his hand.
Maybe it fuels the motivation of this BCLA Most Valuable Player of the Finals, to inspire him to keep collecting trophies and medals all over the world.
China seems like an ideal location to continue the winning run, and have Scola hand him the medal or even the Cup on Sunday.
"We came here to win," Caffaro said with a confident face.
"On paper, I guess some other teams look better than us, but we know what we have. We know it's enough, and we know we're gonna fight."
First win is here, meaning Boca Juniors get to enjoy a day off and could be through to the Semi-Finals on Wednesday if the NBA G League United defeat the Royal Fighters.
If not, Boca get a chance to handle the business on their own on Thursday, when they face the G Leaguers.