Argentina race out to early lead, roll to convincing win over Nigeria
RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Argentina took command early and rolled to a 94-66 victory over AfroBasket 2015 champions Nigeria on Sunday night at Carioca Arena 1.
In the last game on Day 2 of the Olympic Basketball Tournament, Argentina's iconic players Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola and Andres Nocioni thrilled a partisan crowd but the player that did most of the damage for the No. 4 team in the FIBA World Ranking was Facundo Campazzo, who had a game-high 14 points at the break.
Turning point: Scola converted a three-point play to open an 11-0 run for Argentina at the start of the game and which Nocioni capped off with a three-pointer. Sergio Hernandez's side had a 50-31 stranglehold on the contest by half-time and the second half was little more than a procedure.
Stats Don't Lie: Two stand out. 3 minutes and 17 seconds. That's how long Shane Lawal played for Nigeria after landing awkwardly while trying to grab a rebound. The big man left the court with a knee injury in the first quarter and didn't return, thereby depriving the D'Tigers of one of their most physical players. The second one is the 15-of-34 three-point shooting display put on by Argentina. In comparison, Nigeria were 4-of-25 from beyond the arc.
Hero: Coming off Argentina's bench, Campazzo was on his game and did a bit of everything, finishing not only with a game-high 19 points, but also sharing honours with Ginobili for most assists (5) while also picking up 5 steals. His shot was falling from long-range too, as he hit 5-of-8.
The Bottom Line: It was a good way for Argentina to open their campaign. They will face a first real test on Tuesday when they take on Croatia, who are fresh off their surprise win over two-time silver medalists Spain. As for Nigeria, they next face Lithuania, who appeared vulnerable in the second half of their defeat of Brazil.
FIBA