Argentina secured an important victory at the start of the second phase of the Qatar 2027 World Cup qualifying windows.
With stretches of excellent basketball in the third and fourth quarters, the home team displayed the defensive solidity and fluidity that proved fundamental to the victory.
With parity and lead changes early in the game, Argentina attempted to play inside with passes from Campazzo to cuts in the paint by Deck, Brussino and Caffaro, with little effectiveness.
Isaiah Piñeiro and José Alvarado were Puerto Rico's driving force in those minutes, with three-pointers and penetrations.
Caffaro sustained a physical battle with Romero in the paint. Argentina found some calm with two consecutive three-pointers from Brussino with 4:48 remaining, putting Argentina up 13-10. Visiting coach Carlos Gonzalez called a timeout. Prigioni sent Laprovitola to the court, generating steals, assists and points, organizing the home team's offense, which closed the quarter up 25-21.
The entry of Juani Marcos brought freshness and dynamism to Argentina in the second quarter. He was tasked with defending Alvarado and managed some steals and fast breaks to keep the home team ahead. Bressan tried to win the paint, alternating good and bad plays. Vaulet defended more than he attacked in the first half of the quarter.
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Parity was absolute, with the teams trading the lead on the scoreboard. Neither could establish a clear advantage to make the difference. With 3 seconds on the clock, Caffaro received in the paint, launched a floater and closed the second period at 43-42 for Argentina.
The home team returned more active after halftime. They were able to run with Campazzo and Deck, and went up 54-47 with 6:29 remaining in the third. Alvarado tried to neutralize the run with a three-pointer without success. González called a timeout.
Argentina dominated the game for several minutes, and reached an 11-point lead: 64-53 with 3:14 left in the third. From there, both teams went cold until the end of the quarter, with only a free throw from Daniel Rivera for Puerto Rico to make it 64-54.
Campazzo took the initiative to run the offense in the final period. He assisted, penetrated and organized the home team. He maintained a lead between 8 and 10 points, reaching 13 with just over 5 minutes remaining: 78-65. Puerto Rico tried to change the course of the game without success. Only individual scoring attempts from Alvarado had any effect in preventing the home team from extending their lead further.
Even during a moment of confusion for Argentina, with Gabriel Deck's exit due to a shoulder injury with just minutes remaining. Prigioni's team showed composure and intelligence in managing the lead and closed out the game more comfortably with a final score of 89-75.
Argentina 89: Campazzo 13, Deck 23, Brussino 8, Bolmaro 19, Caffaro 7; Corbalán 0, Vaulet 0, Marcos 2, Bressan 5, Laprovitola 12
Puerto Rico 75: Alvarado 19, Romero 6, Rivera 3, Piñeiro 13, Plummer 5; Condic IV 8, Thompson 13, Reed 0, Claveli 6, De Jesús 2, Thompson JR 0