Santiago Vescovi, Francisco Farabello meet in March Madness as old NBA academy friends
DETROIT − Santiago Vescovi hit up Francisco Farabello in mid-February.
The Tennessee basketball guard got a PlayStation 5 and wanted to renew an old habit with his old friend Farabello, a Creighton guard.
“I am trying to get back in rhythm,” Farabello recalled Vescovi saying.
The two launched into the game, playing often lately in the lead up to March Madness. They will be playing a different game Friday.
The NBA Global Academy products will play against each other in the NCAA Tournament when No. 2-seeded Tennessee (26-9) and No. 3 seed Creighton (25-9) play in the Sweet 16 at Little Caesars Arena.
How Santiago Vescovi, Francisco Farabello became friends through NBA academies
Those Call of Duty games start the same way.
Either Vescovi, Farabello or Francisco Caffaro — another NBA Global Academy product turned college basketball player — text a group chat. One asks if the others are free. Whoever is will play.
“Going back to the pandemic, he was really, really good,” Farabello said.
Farabello and Vescovi have a friendship dating back to Basketball Without Borders Americas in July 2017 in the Bahamas.
Farabello, who is from Cañada de Gómez, Argentina, and Vescovi — a Montevideo, Uruguay native — bonded over their South American roots quickly. Both are avid drinkers of Yerba mate, a South American tea-like drink.
“We have similar traditions,” Farabello said. “Our cultures are very, very similar.”
They crossed paths through various events through the NBA academies through the years, including at the exhibitions games at the Next Generation Showcase at the 2018 Final Four. Vescovi settled into at the NBA Academy Latin America in Mexico City.
Farabello spent two years at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, where Vescovi later spent six months before enrolling at UT in the middle of the 2019-20 season.
How Francisco Farabello has seen Santiago Vescovi grow before March Madness game
Farabello and Vescovi didn’t play together at any of the academies. Farabello enrolled at TCU in July 2019. The NBA Global Academy brought Vescovi in to play point guard.
Farabello knew then that Vescovi was a reliable point guard with a lot of smarts. He remembered Vescovi’s proclivity for “very fancy passes.” He noted both players became strong 3-point shooters in college. He was impressed to learn that Vescovi became the Tennessee record holder for career steals against Texas.
“He has had an amazing career,” said Farabello, who transferred to Creighton in April 2022. “I am glad I was there every step of the way.”
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The pair are two of the five NBA Global Academy products remaining in the NCAA Tournament. It is an exciting opportunity, Farabello said, but it comes with a sad reality.
Both players are fifth-year seniors in their final season of college basketball. One will move onto the Elite Eight. The other will be done playing college basketball.
But whatever the outcome, Farabello and Vescovi will still have those Call of Duty games and a similar path to high-level college basketball.
“It is going to be really important, especially for South America,” Farabello said. "Not a lot of players get the opportunity to come here and then get to play in March Madness.”
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Santiago Vescovi, Francisco Farabello meet in March Madness
