FIBA World Cup: Argentina, Spain move on to semifinals

Argentina keeps rolling along

At Dongguan, the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals opened with what was being touted as a huge surprise — Argentina knocked Serbia out of championship contention with a 97-87 victory.

Yes, Serbia had a roster pockmarked with NBA players — including All-NBA center Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and scoring star Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Sacramento Kings.

Argentina’s count of current NBA players? That would be zero, although Luis Scola and Patricio Garino have played in the NBA.

But on Tuesday, Argentina — ranked fifth in the FIBA World Rankings entering the tournament — beat Serbia, which came in ranked No. 4, not because of a fluke or a couple of bounces.

No, Argentina beat Serbia because they flat-out out-played them.

The Argentinians shot 53.7 percent (36-for-67) overall, were a solid 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) from long range and overcame a 28-17 disadvantage in free throw attempts.

Serbia, for its part, dominated the boards but didn’t make Argentina pay for that domination. The Serbians had 18 offensive rebounds to just eight for Argentina … but it was Argentina that finished with a 13-8 advantage in second-chance points.

Serbia committed 16 turnovers to just 14 for Argentina. That margin shouldn’t have translated into a 27-16 advantage for the Argentinians in points off turnovers. But it did.

Serbia undid itself with its poor shooting. They made just 41.8 percent (28-for-67) overall and were just 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) from deep.

Scola, the 39-year-old who is still rolling along in the Chinese Basketball Association, scored 20 points to lead Argentina. Facundo Campazzo added 18 points with 12 assists and three steals and Garino scored 15 points.

Bogdanovic had 21 points for Serbia, Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica added 18 and Jokic went for 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, but also had five turnovers.

Here are three quick takes from the game:

1) Facundo Campazzo might be the best point guard you’ve never heard of. Campazzo is just 5-foot-10 inches and perhaps that’s why he’s never gotten a look from the NBA, but the 28-year-old can run an offense.

Campazzo has spent the last two seasons with Real Madrid in the Spanish ACB, where he shared time at the point with Sergio Llull, also in China with Spain’s national team.

Campazzo was also with Real Madrid in 2014-15 before leaving to play two seasons with UCAM Murcia. He came back to Madrid in August 2017 and last season played in 80 games, starting 46, and averaging 9.8 points, 5.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 23.7 minutes per game.

He shot just 40 percent overall and 37.3 percent on 3.5 3-point attempts per game.

But he has played terrific basketball for his national team in China, averaging 13.8 points, 8.0 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 28.0 minutes per game and shooting 49.1 percent overall and a solid 43.8 percent on 5.3 3-point tries a night.

He’s a pest defensively, even as he gives up a lot of size, a deft and creative passer and has that knack to know when to look for his own shot and when to set up a teammate.

2) Luis Scola is right. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reported from Dongguan in the postgame that Luis Scola is bothered by the idea that Argentina beating Serbia is some sort of miraculous outcome.

Argentina improved to 6-0 in the FIBA World Cup and Serbia fell to 4-2, with both losses coming after their level of competition improved. They lost by 12 points to No. 2-ranked Spain to end the second round and fell by 10 to No. 5 Argentina on Tuesday.

Scola’s right. Argentina had a plan, executed it well, overcame a ton of early foul trouble and did two important things: They took advantage of every opportunity they got and helped keep Serbia from taking advantage of the edges it got.

Scola is the last link to Argentina’s Golden Generation, the group including Manu Ginobili that won the Olympic gold medal in 2004. And at 39, he doesn’t seem to be slowing down that much.

3) Serbia tried to do too much. Part of Serbia’s poor shooting on Tuesday had to do with shot selection. We get it — you guys like to share the ball. But the idea is to pass up a good shot for a great one, not pass up an open shot for a wild, out-of-control, contested look.

The Serbians made easy shots difficult with unnecessary twists and turns and passed up open shots in the interest of passing again. It was almost as if the team had fictional coach Norman Dale of Hoosiers fame in their ear, screaming, “FOUR PASSES!”

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how pretty it is if you get the win. Or how pretty you tried to make it when you take the loss.