Atenas had the support of its people and settled the final series of the Northern Conference this Tuesday night, by beating Sportivo Suardi by 70 to 62 at the Carlos Cerutti sports center.
Now, “El Griego” will play the final for promotion against Racing de Chivilcoy, the champion of the Southern Conference, next Sunday, July 9 in Córdoba.
The scorer of the decisive game was José Montero with 20 points, but he was also accompanied by Carlos Buemo (16) and the sacrifice of Juan Cruz Oberto who finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds.
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In the stands there were more than 3 thousand people cheering and the presence of different basketball figures from the province and the country such as Rubén Magnano, Walter Garrone, Mario Milanesio, Lucas Victoriano, “Mily” Villar and “El Gringo” Pelussi, among others. . In addition, hundreds of fans were left wanting, despite lining up in search of a ticket.
It was the people of Córdoba, together with Gustavo Peirone’s team, that spread the momentum from the start to win game 5 and end a tough, uncomfortable and exhausting series. Now, the best is coming.
The start of the match: from less to more
Like every decisive match, the start of the game was pure nervousness. Errors were a constant in both teams and they played at a high pace, with many possessions. In that suit by suit, Athens was the most harmed.
Suardi’s partial was 11-6 in the first four minutes of the first quarter. However, that small difference was quickly reversed by the local team, who adjusted their defense on Rigada and Martínez and managed to close that period 16-14 up.
In the second quarter, “El Griego” once again suffered the onslaught of the Santa Fe team, who with tooth and nail managed to once again dominate the score by putting the ball in the paint and being aggressive in penetrations, which allowed them to lead 29-21. and force Peirone’s minute.
When the night got darker, it was not Lucas Arn who was looking for the player, but rather the Buemo-Montero duo, who converted 7 consecutive points (two triples) to get back on the prowl (27-28) and provoke the first scream of the people, who sang in unison “and give it to Athens…” to stun the visitor.
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However, at the end of the second quarter the two teams were tied at halftime at 40-40 and the outlook looked complex for the home team.
The changes at halftime: defense and delivery
Juan Cruz Oberto was the player of the third quarter. He scored 8 points, had 2 blocks, pulled down 2 offensive rebounds and took advantage of Rigada’s absence (due to an accumulation of fouls) to take over the painted area. It was the engine that Atenas needed to finish knocking out Suardi.
“At halftime we talked about attacking them in the paint and not shooting as many three-pointers, charging them with fouls and being two steps higher on defense,” Oberto said exclusively for Chain 3 after the game.
Juan Cruz Oberto before the defense of Horacio Rigada. (Photo: Germán Ruiz/Atenas)
This tactical change in defense denied Suardi the possibility of moving the ball on the perimeter and he began to make mistakes: in the first half he had only 2 turnovers and in the third quarter he added 3.
In that maelstrom, Atenas managed to gain eight points of difference in the middle of the quarter (52-44) and managed it until the end of the period with a more orderly game and exploiting the double mark that Suardi made on Arn in the post, to Reverse the ball and find the freed player. There, both Buemo and Montero took advantage of the spaces.
The last breath to regain momentum
Athens started the final quarter with a ten-point lead. And he managed to keep it. The thing is that “El Griego” never lowered the defensive intensity and dried up the rival perimeters: neither Cajal (3 points), Calderón (10), nor Fino (5) could break that shifting first defensive line.
To make matters worse, inmate Pablo Martínez suffered fouls from the local team that sought to take him to the free throw line, his main weakness. He took 9 free throws and scored only one, but in several of them the ball did not touch the rim and aroused the ridicule of the green fans.
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For this reason, the end of the game was all in favor of Athens, which managed to maintain a comfortable lead (unlike the other games) and celebrated in style with its people, who accompanied it en masse and are excited about what is to come. .
The final for promotion with Racing de Chivilcoy
“We watched the games and we have a lot of acquaintances, they have a lot of goals, so we are going to try to lower that and try to become stronger here at home,” said Oberto about Athens’ next rival.
The series for the title will begin on Sunday, June 9 at the Carlos Cerutti Sports Center, since “El Griego” has the home field advantage for having finished with the most wins in the regular phase, despite the fact that both finished second.
Atenas with 24 wins and six losses (80%), while the team from the province of Buenos Aires in the Southern Conference, with 23 wins and 9 losses (71.8%).
For its part, the final will continue on June 11, with the second game also at the Carlos Cerutti sports center. The final then moves to Chivilcoy, where the third match, and eventually the fourth, takes place on June 15 and 17.
The matches in the province of Buenos Aires will be played at the Grilon Arena de Racing, which has a capacity of 1,200 spectators.
Report by Ignacio García Iturriza and Jorge “Cacho” Mercado.
