Argentina grew by leaps and bounds in the Americanup
The kids grow. And what if they grew up. The Argentine Basketball National Team closed its participation in the Americanup of Nicaragua with a bitter taste for The defeat in the final against Brazil 55-47but with the conviction of having taken giant steps forward. The short and long term future offers much more clarity on the horizon than the clouds that were seen in the previous one.
For the continental tournament, coach Pablo Prigioni played a plenary and was right: he decided to form a squad with a majority of young people with little experience to acquire international rubbing for the next commitments. And the team responded with a collective and individual level higher than expected.
Second place is a detail that does not modify the conclusions: Argentina offered, especially from the direct elimination phase, actions that generate illusion. The victory against Puerto Rico in extra time in the quarterfinals and the triumph against Canada in the semifinals They were the peaks of a performance with a favorable balance.
“With these boys you can’t put any roof. They broke all expectations and were very close to get the gold,” said Prigioni after the final.
“At some point in the preparation and the tournament, they changed the goal and wanted to win the Americanup.
That change that the technical director points out was clear from the duel against Puerto Rico, after the dull triumph against Colombia, with a squad diminished from the sanctions for the scandal of the closing of the duel against the Dominican Republic.
Argentina built its strengths from the defense With respect for the tactical plan of the coaching staff, discipline and attitude. When all the players assumed the challenge to protect their own hoop, the result was evident: it fulfilled the objective of leaving rivals with hierarchy players around 70 points.
From defensive solidity, especially in the quarterfinals and semifinals, he got offensive fluidity: he obtained counterattack points or advantages in the first seconds, which allowed him to get the points that cost him much more in the fixed attack five against five.
The kids made a wink to the history of Argentine basketball, not only for winning on August 28 on the anniversary of the gold medal in Athens 2004, but for respecting the DNA of the teams that succeeded: Defensive commitment is unnegotiable.
Beyond tactical issues, Argentina grew because it competed to more experience, physically strong and players with tour in the best leagues in the world.
The second place, in addition, held Argentina in the elite of the continent: he played his fourth consecutive final, he is the selected one that got the podium most times and took a medal in each edition of the Tournament of the Americas since 1999.
Prigioni’s decision not to have the referents of the selected who play in Euroleague teams – Facundo Campazzo, Gabriel Deck, Nicolás Laprovittola, Luca Vildoza and Leandro Bolmaro – was a success for two fundamental reasons: the young people got international experience and consolidated the basis that will dispute the classification for the 2027 World Cup from November.
Beyond the result, proud of this team. Nothing to reproach, they put a huge tournament. To continue on this path equipment!
– Facu Campazzo (@facucampazzo) SEPTEMBER 1, 2025
Argentine team players needed to add high competitive demand matches. The final result was not a condition, but it was necessary to advance until the last day to complete the objective. The painful non -participation in the 2023 World Cup, followed by the most logical absence in the 2024 Olympic Games could have confused the way to choose. However, Prigioni was clear about his bet.
Between the preparation process -8 friendlies- and the American -6 meetings-, Argentina found confirmations of players that will be important both when the team is complete and when it is not: Juan Francisco Fernández, Gonzalo Corbalán and Francisco Cáffaro in the highest step of young people, and Juan Ignacio Marcos and Alex Negrete with ups and downs but with flashes to comply with the requested roles. The contribution of the experienced Nicolás Brussino, José Vildoza and Juan Pablo Vaulet was and will be decisive, especially in the absence of the aforementioned leaders.
The development of Gonzalo Bressan, Santiago Trouet, Juan Bocca and Dylan Bordón is an unknown in the future, since they had less prominence.
The kids grow. And what if they grew up.
