The National Basketball League recovered its top champion. Four hundred and two days after relegation, the saddest day in its sporting history, Athens of Córdoba won the Argentine League by winning at home 80-57 against Chivilcoy Racing and seal the final 3-2.
In this way, the top category recovers the club with the most titles, since it achieved nine in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2009.
Atenas, second in the Northern Conference during the regular stage, faced this decisive key with a home field advantage against the Academyescort of the Southern Conference, although with a worse winning percentage.
In the first game at Cerutti, the hosts won 80-72, but in the second the Buenos Aires team won 73-67. The series moved to Chivilcoy, where Atenas won the third 74-68 and the local team tied with 84-70.
With 9 points of Chris Ware and 7 of Juan Cruz Oberto -son of Mateo, first cousin of Fabricio-, Atenas led 39-29 at halftime after winning the first quarter 20-12.
The nerves grew in Cerutti, but immediately it was all joy with the maximum advantage of 17 points (46-29) at 2:18 of the second half. And the third quarter continued that trend until 58-42.
Everything was defined four minutes into the final quarter, with a 70-46 scoreline. So that the Athens party is absolute in Córdoba.
The reconstruction
For the reconstruction after relegation, the Athens leadership turned to men with a past in the club. As sports director he was appointed German Baralle, former player (he was League champion in 1990 and 1992), son of former president Eder Baralle and father of point guard Franco. And they joined the lower division structure Mario Milanesio and Donald Jonesboth champions in 1987 and 1988.
In July, he was chosen as coach Gustavo Peirone, who had worked as an assistant at the club, had a brief stint in the National League at the helm of Instituto and had coached Barrio Parque in the Argentine League for the last two seasons. “The objective is only one because we all want Athens to return to the forefront as quickly as possible,” the coach warned.
Since its debut in the Argentine League, with an 80-73 victory over Sportivo Suardi at Cerutti, Atenas was the protagonist of the contest. They fought for number one in their conference with San Isidro, completed the first phase with a record of 24 wins and 6 losses, and were just one game behind the San Francisco team, the best of that stage.
In the quarterfinals, the Greek recovered from a 2-1 deficit and eliminated in five games Jump Basket (11th in the regular phase). In the semifinals of the Northern Conference, they swept 3-0 Rivadavia Basketball from Mendoza (ninth in the regular phase).
In the final, he once again faced a difficult situation when he faced a 2-1 disadvantage against Sportivo Suardi (4th). But 42 points from Arn allowed him to win the fourth game 75-71 in Santa Fe and then define the series at Cerutti with a 70-62 victory that gave him the ticket to the final against Racing.
Athens became the third National League champion to return to the top flight after having lost his place in the elite. Ferrowhich was established in 1985, 1986 and 1989, was relegated in 2004 and returned in 2015 after buying the place from Ciclista Juninense. Freedom of Sunchales, champion in 2008, sold its place in 2017 to Salta Basket and went on to compete in the Argentine League, but in just one year it achieved promotion. He competed three more seasons in the National League and in 2021 he sold his place again, this time to Riachuelo de La Rioja.
