By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Facu Campazzo was a maestro with 18 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, 39-year-old Luis Scola added 20 points and five boards as Argentina beat gold medal frontrunner Serbia 97 – 87 to become the first team that advances to the 2019 FIBA World Cup semifinals.
Campazzo also scored the basket that made it 91 – 80 with 1:39 remaining to give his team an important, and game-winning, safety pillow. Bogdan Bogdanovic (21 points) pulled off a tough 3-pointer to give the “Orlovi” a hope, but Campazzo scored a long-range 2-pointer and then Gabriel Deck stole the ball and dunk in transition to seal the triumph for the Argentinian side.
Serbia went up 68 – 70 at the beginning of the fourth period after trailing for the majority of the game until then. 3-pointers courtesy of Campazzo and Patricio Garino switched the lead in favor of Argentina again. Sasha Djordjevic’s players were missing open shots while Scola and Campazzo cooperated beautifully in a couple of plays to preserve a lead that ultimately sent their squad to the podium zone.
Apart from Bogdanovic, Nemanja Bjelica posted 18 points and seven rebounds for Serbia while Nikola Jokic added 16 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
Garino dropped 16 points and Gabriel Deck notched 13 points and six rebounds for Argentina.
Photo Credit: FIBA.Basketball