History repeated itself again. Atenas took a vital victory as a visitor, in Chivilcoy, by beating Racing 74-68 this Saturday and thus took a 2-1 lead in the final of the Argentine League.
With this result, “El Griego” only needs one more victory to achieve the long-awaited promotion to the National League.
The scorer and figure of the game was Lucas Arn with 25 points (14 in the second quarter), 5 rebounds and 4 assists. In addition, he had the help of point guard Nicolás Zurschmitten who finished with 14 points and 6 assists.
(Photo: Germán Ruiz/Atenas)
Now, the series continues next Monday, in Chivilcoy, at 9 p.m.
Defense, the decisive factor of victory
Atenas arrived in the interior of the province of Buenos Aires with a clear objective: to improve the defense against the Racing inmates. And tonight he did it.
The recipe was to make a double mark on Emilio Stucky and José Peralta when they both received in the painted area. This forced the big men to have to look for a free teammate on the perimeter, to punish from the outside shot. But again, “The Academy” suffered its lack of effectiveness from there.
(Photo: Germán Ruiz/Atenas)
Only in the first quarter, where he shot 60% on triples (3/5), was he able to take the lead on the scoreboard. However, when the “Griego” defense adjusted, the local team began to lower its percentage and finished with 33% from the outside shot (10/33). It was the highest in the three games of the series. But he didn’t reach him.
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Zone defense was another key to the game. Gustavo Peirone decided to use it in several sections and it paid off in the end. In the last five minutes, Atenas managed to withstand the rival momentum with the five players covering spaces and not allowing penetrations. The result was evident: Racing was once again below 70 points.
Lucas Arn, the hero again
It mattered little that the captain of Atenas was born precisely in Chivilcoy. In the stands there were friends and family who had not seen him step foot in the Grilon Arena for decades. However, Lucas Arn once again put on the Greek green cape to give another key victory to his team and the handful of fans who arrived and settled in one of the corners of the stadium.
Arn’s best moment coincided with Atenas’ best offensive moment: the second quarter. In that period, “El Griego” scored 31 points in 10 minutes, with 14 points from the power forward, who finished with three triples (when Atenas had not scored any in the first quarter).
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Then, every time the potatoes burned, Arn grabbed the ball and forced points, infractions and turnovers from the rival. Furthermore, Peirone decided to use him as a forward, when Juan Cruz Oberto and Chris Ware shared the paint. That variant (which he had never used) bore a lot of fruit and allowed Racing’s defense to open.
A dramatic ending
As two journalists from Puerto Rico who were reporting in the NBA would say, when there are two minutes left and the difference between the two teams is five points or less, the game enters “La Chiquita.”
Precisely, Atenas entered that segment winning by six points (71-65) with a triple by Lucas Reyes. However, from that moment on, “El Griego” was a nervous wreck and couldn’t score.
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First, Zurschmitten went to the free throw line and missed both of his shots. Then, a great defense by Racing forced a loss by the Cordoba team by 24 seconds. In that context, Stuckey took advantage and scored three points (double and foul) to shorten the difference to 3 (71-68).
With 30 seconds on the clock, “El Griego” recovered from the bottom and was on the verge of committing another loss due to the pressure of “La Academia”, but José Montero arrived just before his mark, to a loose ball and ended up going to the line. He missed the first and scored the second.
With the difference of four points, Racing asked for a minute and had one last chance. But a slip by Alejo Barrales (who played injured) dirty the planned play and ended with a forced triple by Peralta that did not touch the rim.
(Photo: Germán Ruiz/Atenas)
It was a victory for Atenas, which once again took out the visitor’s candidate badge and was just one victory away from promotion. Close, but still one step away.
As Lucas Arn said to the official broadcast after the game: “The series is not closed yet.”
“All the games are going to be like this. We suffered the blow there, now they suffer the blow here. All the chapters are different, I think it is important to score 2-1, but this team is very dangerous, it is very talented, “He has a lot of weapons and the series is not closed,” he told Basquetpass.
The final matches
Game 1: Atenas 80 – Racing de Chivilcoy 72 | Series: 1-0
Game 2: Atenas 67 – Racing de Chivilcoy 73 | Series: 1-1
Game 3: Atenas 68 – Racing de Chivilcoy 74 | Series: 2-1
Game 4: Monday 06/17 | 9 pm in Chivilcoy
Game 5: Friday 06/21 | 9 pm in Córdoba*
If necessaryReport by Ignacio García Iturriza
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