THE ever-reliable star duo of Patricio Garino and Facundo Campazzo join Luis Scola as the faces of Argentina’s final roster for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.

Garino, who plies his trade for Saski Baskonia and is set to play at his first World Cup, saw action in the Americas qualifiers, averaging 15.0 points and 2.5 triples made in the two contests. But he is expected to make an even bigger impact for the Albiceleste quintet in China.

The main cogs, of course, will be Campazzo and veteran Scola, who are among five holdovers from Argentina’s 2014 World Cup squad, including playmaker Nicolas Laprovittola and big men Tayavek Gallizzi and Marcos Delia.

They are coming off a gold medal finish at the Pan-Am Games 2019 in Lima, Peru, where the Albiceleste held off Team USA in the semifinal before blowing out Puerto Rico in the final, 84-66.

Real Madrid’s Campazzo will certainly be the one to watch for Argentina. The 1.79m floor general played in four Americas qualifiers fixtures, with his best performance a 26-point outing against Mexico. The high-energy point guard is projected to be the national team’s primary playmaker when action tips off in Wuhan for Group B play.

Scola, for his part, was Argentina’s most productive player at the Pan-Am tournament.

The 39-year-old will be one of the most seasoned players in China, where he will play at his fifth World Cup.

Argentina opens its World Cup account Aug. 31 against South Korea to be followed by games against Nigeria on Sept. 2 and Russia on Sept. 4.

(FIBA)