2023-08-21 03:52:00
Disappointment, sadness, anger, anger and the certainty that it is even worse than six months ago. Without a place in the World Cup that will begin next Friday, The Argentine basketball team will not be at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games either. From Mar del Plata to Santiago del Estero, two of the most important blows in history were, incredibly, at home and against rivals that were supposed to be inferior, but were just superior. The last one was this Sunday against Bahamas, which it prevailed 82 to 75 in the final of the Olympic Prequalifier of the Americas and was left with the only ticket to the Olympic Qualification Tournaments where four places will be at stake for the Olympic event in France.
If after the fall in the Islas Malvinas Sports Center against the Dominican Republic on the last date of the Qualifiers with which the non-classification to the World Cup was consummated, it was analyzed that it was necessary to shuffle and give again, after the disappointment against the Bahamians in the Ciudad stadium Argentine basketball must change the cards. And he has plenty of time to do it because will not face major competitions for at least one year. Not playing the two most important tournaments on the calendar took a team that has been an international power off the map since the Golden Generation burst in at the beginning of 2000.
From the start, the albiceleste raised the game differently due to the absence of Luca Vildoza, who was injured in the semifinal with Chile. His place was occupied Gabriel Deck and the team relied solely on the creativity of Facundo Campazzo, demanded to the maximum. In the first quarter, the point guard from Córdoba controlled the game and its development was in accordance with what the locals wanted. On several occasions the advantage in his favor was five points and was sustained by good aim from the three-point line (four converted out of five shot in that section) and the incisive falls to the paint of Francisco Caffaro y Juan Fernandezboth determinants so that in the first 20 minutes Deandre Ayton don’t gravitate to the visitor’s offense (two units with one conversion in eight field goals).
But the set of Pablo Prigioni did not take advantage of their moment as the visitor did when, with a zone defense and with Eric Gordon in offensive driving, he understood how to master actions. After a good passage of Lucio Redivo that gave Argentina the maximum distance of six goals (30-24), the squad of Chris Demarco he tried a 15-2 run and went ahead by seven (39-32). In that period he was decisive, in addition to Gordon, Travis Munnings with three bombings. The national team, as happened against the Chileans, became entangled with arbitration rulings and, unable to define near the basket due to the presence of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns pivot, aimed at mid-distance and lacked effectiveness. His virtue was not leaving the game and, with Deck as the main tool, he closed the first half very well and equalized at 42.
Eric Gordon was the great figure of the Bahamas and, towards the end, hit three consecutive triple FIBA
In the resumption, the duel became stick and stick. In the Argentine national team the figure of Carlos Delfino with 10 consecutive points. In the Bahamas, Ayton took responsibility while he could, because he was very well controlled by Cáffaro and Fernández, and was a shadow of the one he excelled in the previous match with victory for his team. The albiceleste, with a staunch defense and an indecipherable Campazzo in driving, was able to get away again by six goals (60-54) and closed the set up 60-56.
The difference was short-lived for the host. At the beginning of the last quarter, the visitor, with more to win than lose and a superb Gordon, took the game to his convenience and had the courage to overcome good passages from his rival and sentence the story in his favor after several changes of command in the scoreboard In the closing, the Phoenix Suns forward took responsibility and, without hesitating, made all the decisions. They were worth three consecutive triples and a key robbery over Delfino with which he ended the illusion of the hundreds of fans who filled the Quimsa stadium to cheer on the albiceleste. The difference was that Gordon hit what he shot and, on the other side, Campazzo, always the best Argentine player, missed two shots in front of the basket that could have changed the final course.
Gordon concluded the game with 27 points, with six of seven three-pointers made, a very high percentage of 83.3%. Munnings accompanied him with 16 goals, and Buddy Hield added 15. Ayton did not gravitate forward as much because he converted 10 points, but he was the owner of every ball that was in the air with 21 rebounds. In the loser, the best passed through the hands of Campazzo (14 points and 17 assists) while the top scorer was Deck, with 21 plus six boards. Delfino added 15 points in what could have been one of his last games with the albiceleste shirt, taking into account that he will be 41 years old on August 29 and that the national team will not have activity for a long period.
Deandre Ayton was well controlled by the Argentine defense and barely scored 10 points, but grabbed 21 reboundsFIBA
Although it was known that not qualifying for the World Cup also complicated the chances of being in the Olympic Games, The national team was expected to at least play the Pre-Olympic, especially since he was chosen to host the Prequalifier and because his opponents would be nations without as much power. However, the presence of the NBA Ayton, Gordon and Hield in the Bahamas changed the map of the championship and the weight of the stars was too much for a beaten team, lacking in confidence and with new faces due to the important absences.
In the post-match press conference, Prigioni highlighted Gordon’s advocacy in favor of the Bahamas: “His individual quality defined the game, there were two or three actions where we were not close to him and he scored it. Against a team with this quality of players you have to follow the game plan to the end. We had controlled it well within everything, but it got away from us at the end and that was the difference. We lost because we went defensive with Gordon. Those three shots hurt us and he hurt us offensively.”
In addition, he spoke about the future of the national team and made it clear that he wants to continue in office: “Now comes a period with not so much activity. Each of us has work and it is time to focus on our activities. Now we don’t have competition soon, each player has to focus on his team and keep growing, especially the youngsters, because his growth will have an impact on the team later. So next time we get together they’ll be better. Personally I would like to continue, but now there is a lot of time. If the CAB agrees, I will try to be beyond my work in the NBA- Today my franchise (Minnesota Timberwolves) allows me to do double duty, but I don’t know if in a year I will be in the same place”.
Pablo Prigioni assured that he wants to continue leading the Argentine team after failing to qualify for Paris 2024FIBA
Captain Campazzo acknowledged that “it hurts a lot” to be definitively left out of Paris 2024, but remarked that he knows how to continue despite the inactivity that the Argentine team will have: “We are clear that we have to put our energies into what we have to do now. You have to keep working, this is part of the process and you have to live it and learn. I think we grew as a team, personally I saw very good things. You have to chew on this and move on, it’s the only way to think about what’s next, be it AmeriCup or friendlies. The best way to do it is with desire and the whole team has it”.
The FIBA Olympic qualifying tournaments will take place from July 2 to 7. There will be four contests that will bring together 24 countries in total and in each one there will be a quota for the Olympic Games. Croatia, Poland, Bahrain and Cameroon also won the rest of the prequalifiers and took another step towards the Olympic Games. The rest of the teams that will have to play it will opt for the World Cup.
The Bahamas is one of the five countries that won the Olympic pre-qualifiers and took the first step to Paris 2024FIBA
The Argentine team starred in the Olympic Prequalifier because they did not enter the World Cup from the Qualifiers. It will be the fifth time in its history that it will not participate in the ecumenical event. The last time was Colombia 1982, after placing third in the South American, behind Uruguay and Brazil. Nor was it in 1954, after being champion in 1950, nor in 1970 and 1978.
In the Olympic Games, the albiceleste will not be present for the first time since Sydney 2000. In total, he entered eight of 20 tournaments, less than half. However, he accumulated five consecutive presences, with a gold medal in Athens 2004 and another bronze in Beijing 2008. Fifteen years after that last medal, those achievements reveal even more the meager present and the certainty that the future must be rethought.
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