El Ranco enjoyed an 18-point lead over Defensores and Hurlingham, but the match ended close. It was 65-61 with 14 points from Sebastián Sevegnani.
To win you also have to know how to suffer. And Ramos struggled to beat Defensores de Hurlingham 65-61 at Rancho Garden, and thus maintain the lead and remain undefeated in the FeBAMBA-Buenos Aires division of the Federal League.
Leandro Genovese’s team, which reached its fifth victory in the tournament, was able to enjoy a maximum advantage of 18 points in the first half, but Defensores almost managed to turn the scoreboard and cause an upset.
Among the winner’s high points we find Sebastián Sevegnani, with 14 points, Santiago Yaskulka (12 and 11 rebounds) and Facundo Álvarez, with a PIR of 15. While Maximiliano Segón was the top gunner of the match with 15 units.
Ramos always dominated on the scoreboard and was superior to his rival in both defense and attack. At least in the first quarters, in which the Ranch showed its best side. Hurlingham, who did not have Nicolás Paciotti, was erratic and surprised with his 0/8 triples.
With good performances from Yaskulka and Sevegnani, plus the leadership of Álvarez and Kaneshiro, Ramos went into the break 41-24, showing moments of good basketball.
Defensores put Maxi Stanic on the field in the second half and found greater fluidity in attack. With pressure throughout the field and some triples by Facundo Escobar and Ignacio González, he scored a 10-3 run at the beginning of the third quarter (44-34).
With the presence of Segón and David Cabezas, those from Hurlingham continued to lie in wait and were one behind: 50-51 in the last quarter. A triple by Stanic and a double by González fueled the visitor’s enthusiasm.
But Ramos recovered opportunely with a burst from Facundo Álvarez and a triple from Santiago Martínez to catch his breath (57-50) and control the match until the end, beyond the approach of Defensores in the last minutes.
Ramos will visit Los Indios in the leaders duel on Thursday, March 10, while Defensores will host Gimnasia y Esgrima de Villa del Parque.
SYNTHESIS
Ramos Mejía LTC (65): Facundo Álvarez 10, Santiago Martínez 8, Santiago Yaskulka 12, Sebastián Sevegnani 14 and Raúl Salvatierra 4 (FI); Facundo Kaneshiro 11, Leonel Mastrandrea 2, Marcos Martínez Mayor 4, Ariel García, Pablo Cabrera and Rodrigo López. DT: Leandro Genovese.
Hurlingham defenders (61): Ignacio González 9, Pablo Feder, Maximiliano Segón 15, David Cabezas 11 and Lucas Sedani 4 (FI); Facundo Escobar 11, Mateo Comolli 4, Franco Heck, Maximiliano Stanic 7, Teo Barani and Gonzalo Legal. DT: Gustavo Martinez.
Partials: 21-12 / 41-24 / 49-45.
Referees: Guillermo Dilernia and Federico Palavecino.
Field: Rancho Garden.
Text: Federico Henault.
Photos: Alan Roy Bahamonde.