After getting crushed by Luka Doncic and the Slovenians, Argentina will look to its mojo back as it faces off with powerhouse Spain, who will be shooting for win No. 2, in an intriguing battle down at Saitama Super Arena,Chūō-ku. Check out our preview of this game below.
The Spanish Armada came to Japan and wreaked havoc right out of the gate, as the Spaniards defeated the host in their opener, 88-77. Ricky Rubio led Spain with his 20 points and nine assists. The veteran point guard should be encouraged by the sight of Luka Doncic destroying Argentina’s backcourt defense, though Rubio doesn’t have to be ball-dominant in this game. Instead, he can let the likes of Victor Claver, Marc Gasol, and Alex Abrines take over the scoring duties. Claver had 13 points against Japan, while Abrines came off the bench and scored 11. Spain shot just 8/28 from behind the arc in the Japan game, but it still has plenty of chances to get the team’s outside shooting going. Argentina allowed Slovenia to knock down 16 of 43 shots from deep.
The Argentinians got flat out embarrassed in their opener in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as they absorbed a 118-100 loss at the hands of Doncic and the Slovenians. Argentina’s defense broke down early and couldn’t recover as Doncic went on to tear the South Americans apart. The good thing this time for Argentina is that Spain doesn’t have a playmaker on Doncic’s level. Rubio is someone the Argentinians can contain. Luis Scola led Argentina in the Slovenia game with 23 points on 9/18 shooting from the field, but it’s just not ideal for them that it’s a 41-year-old big man who’s leading them in scoring. Facundo Campazzo had 21 points and four assists, but others like Nicolas Brussino (5 points) and Nicolás Laprovittola (8 points) have to provide better offense going forward for Argentina.
