Lucas Sáez-BravoSpecial envoy Málaga
Special envoy Malaga
Updated Saturday, February 17, 2024-00:42
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"Even if you don't play, you improve." Among the many worries that he brought with him from his NBA adventure, of not finding a place in either the Nuggets or the Mavericks for which
Luka Doncic
claimed him,
Facundo Campazzo
tried to scratch the positive, bring back the individual improvement, the physical step forward , the mental toughness of not playing, of knowing that he was rejected by the dream he was pursuing. "My height played against me," he concluded, which was not a final point, just one more notch on the path of someone who always knew that his thing was to contradict logic. It was at the Martín Carpena, four years ago, when the Argentine, MVP of the last Cup that Real Madrid won, looked his best. Trophy and award that he longs to win back (35% of the
coaches and sports directors of the 10 clubs not classified for the Malaga event thought so before starting)
, once again leader of a team to which he always knew he would return.
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In the 36th minute of Thursday's quarterfinal match, UCAM Murcia rebelled threateningly. A comeback that would have been a nightmare for
Chus Mateo
. Then, the ball went to his guide. The Facu took responsibility. Of Madrid's last 13 goals, 11 came from his hands. Nine of his 16 points in total and a magical assist for
Deck
's bottom cut
. "What truly makes us dangerous is having a very wide offensive variety in all positions, this time it was my responsibility," he downplayed. "He has not been one of the brightest, but at the right moment he has brought out his character and his heart. He has a voracious hunger," his coach praised him.
Campazzo has been the only white reinforcement of the season. An obvious signing, although his return was not easy. Returning from the NBA, with money owed to the club from his termination clause and negotiations that were not progressing, the one from Córdoba had to make an intermediate step through Belgrade. It was at Red Star where he reconnected with Europe and the Euroleague, where he let the time pass on the way to the city where his daughter
Sara
was born four years ago. "I was always tied to Madrid. I feel at home," he said in an interview on Básquet Plus, rejecting more financially juicy offers. To do this, he even had to change agents.
Empty the refrigerator
With
Quique Villalobos
, former white player, agent of
Luka Doncic
,
Carlos Alocén
or
Anthony Randolph
, among many others, everything was simpler and more viable. As if feeling indebted, with that "voracious hunger" that Mateo warns about, Campazzo's start to the season was as if he had to make up for lost time in a few weeks. In Murcia, the city and the team where he had been on loan for two seasons, he won the Endesa Super Cup, MVP of the tournament (the fifth individual award in his record) in his career. "He seemed fresher at the beginning of the season. That overflowing joy... Now the games and the load on his legs are noticeable, but he has arrived at the Cup at a good time," his coach summarized in the press room after the qualification for the semi-finals, where they will meet this Saturday against
Alex Mumbrú
's Valencia
(6:00 p.m.).
An Argentine journalist directly asked Mateo, who already had him under his orders as
Pablo Laso
's assistant , precisely for that reason, in case the Facu who had returned from the NBA was a better basketball player, despite being about 32 years old (almost 33) that does not appear thanks to the intermittent fasting that he has followed with the advice of kinesiologist
Paulo Maccari
for years - following the instructions of
Luis Scola
and
Manu Ginobili
in their times spent together in the Argentine national team -, since he (literally) emptied his refrigerator and he started from scratch: he only eats twice a day, the first after training.
The white coach was clear about it: "Yes, he has taken a step forward in maturity. He is an absolutely reference player for our team. He is the point guard, which means that many balls pass through him, that he makes many decisions. I am very happy with his return and how he is playing. He has shown a point of growth and improvement since he returned from the NBA." It was so clear to the coach and the club that, despite the departure of
Nigel Williams-Goss and Adam Hanga
, the age of
Sergio Rodríguez
and the doubts about Alocén's physical recovery after two years injured, Madrid did not sign another base. The man was Campazzo. "I grew as a player and as a person. When I had to play a lot and then when I didn't play as much, it helped me get to know how I reacted to those situations, how I went through the moment of wanting to play and not being able to," he admitted in an interview in La Reason before the Cup.