In a packed José María Bértora, with a great response from the centralist public, those led by Martín Pascal swept the series against River Plate 2-0, in a tie that began to heat up after the suspension of the first point in Buenos and the subsequent ruling of the CAB that favored those from Núñez with the rescheduling of that meeting.
But the Gualeguaychú team responded on the field to the adversities and after winning on Saturday at the Monumentalito, they repeated tonight, in a more even and vibrant match.
The first minutes of the game were of absolute parity, with Cristián Pérez on fire in Central’s offense (he scored ten of the team’s 16) and with a River that had the initial premise of putting the ball in the paint for the experienced Héctor to work Martirena, who had a great fight with Benítez Gavilán and Pane, with good passages for his team’s score.
But the main way for the millionaire team to score was on the perimeter, from moments in attack by Tomás Jurgensen and Pedro Lorusso. Neither team managed to pull away for more than two possessions and ended the opening chapter in a draw.
The second period started evenly, in a development of great intensity and physical play, until one of the two was able to adjust the mark even more (on a night of good defense) and, from there, hurt the attack. It was River that achieved a mini break of four goals (20-24) and Martín Pascal, the red and black stopper, exhausted his first timeout.
After the break, Central Entrerriano found clarity in the external shots and two triples from Quarroz were enough to change the streak and for Rojinegro to be the one to get four of light, starting from an 8-0 run.
Then, it was the millionaire coach Daniel Rau who called the control table and asked for a minute. The visitor was able to react, but not enough to equalize the score, although in process it was always even.
Central began to find a response in the inside game, with Benítez Gavilán and Francisco Di Meo (he entered very well from the bench), and thus began to add from that aspect and the local team managed to get the maximum of seven by the end of the first half.
In the third quarter, the tension and adrenaline increased, but the process was even. Although River started better and took the lead (39-40), Central once again put together a couple of good offensives with the great contribution from the bench of Valentino Maruri and especially Di Meo, who had a fantastic night and took advantage very well. his minutes before the departure of Mauricio Pane due to a contracture.
Also important was the work of Carlos Benítez Gavilán in the paint and, with a two and one action from the captain, the Rojinegro reached the last quarter with a double-digit advantage, that is, the maximum up to that point.
In the final ten minutes, River attacked and with a 7-0 run they quickly got into the game, however, to the Millonario’s hopes, a three-pointer from Benítez Gavilán broke the local drought and filled them with confidence.
Because Martín Pascal’s team, although it never lowers its intensity in defense, adjusted the mark on Martirena (the main offensive card that the visit showed that night) and River diminished in offense, to the point that it began to miss easy baskets, although he did not give up easily.
Central broke the game with just over a minute left with a three-pointer from the captain and then, due to time out, River shot desperately and the local team finished it off with a superb offensive performance by Di Meo, who emerged as the figure with 20 points and 7 rebounds and the second highest scorer on the team behind Benítez Gavilán (25).
The Gualeguaychú team was among the eight best teams of the season and was two series away in search of promotion. In the semifinals they will face El Talar, in a best-of-three-game tie that would begin on Thursday at Bértora and then move to Capital Federal for the second and hypothetical third game.
-Synthesis-
85/73
Central Entrerriano: Cristian Pérez 18, Nicolás Nieto 0, Leandro Quarroz 13, Mauricio Pane 3, Carlos Benítez Gavilán 25 (fi), Valentino Maruri 6, Francisco Di Meo 20, Franco Sánchez 0 and Juan Siboldi 0. Coach: Martín Pascal
River Plate: Pedro Lorusso 11, Genaro Lorio 6, Tomás Jurgensen 19, Santiago Ibarra 8, Héctor Martirena 23 (fi), José Torrens 1, Joaquín Ortiz 2 and Julián Aréjula 3. Coach: Daniel Rau.
Partials: 16-16, 37-30 and 63-52
Referees: Ramiro Barón – Maximiliano Robles.
Stadium: José María Bértora (Central Entrerriano).
