The obligation was to return to victory and Roca did it with a solid production. The orange team clearly beat Independiente de Neuquén 72-50 and dreams of the playoffs.
The orange relied on the great night of Agustín Sánchez (25 points, 12 rebounds and four assists) and Adolfo García Barros (12 points and ten rebounds), along with the defense of the entire team, to achieve a valuable victory against a rival direct.
The team led by Sebastián García has a record of eight wins and nine losses and on Friday they will seek to continue on the winning path in Plaza Huincul against Perfora.
On the Independiente side, the most outstanding player was point guard Gino Veronesi with 21 points and five rebounds. The red, who shot 4-30 in triples, was 9-8 and is still expectant.
The first quarter was the most even of the night. The visit took the first lead thanks to Veronesi’s goal (11 in the set), but Roca responded with Sánchez (10). The initial ten minutes were tied at 19.
In the second segment, the host became very strong in defense and that was the key. Independiente did not feel comfortable and Depo slipped away from Sánchez, led by Emiliano Bell (four points, seven rebounds and six assists on the night) and the very good appearances of García Barros. The maximum reached nine ( 29-20), but the people from Neuquén narrowed it down with Almendra and Veronesi. However, García Barros came into action and a triple of his, almost over the buzzer, sealed the partial 35-26.
In the complement, from the start, Roca set the pace of the game, despite the attempts of the team led by Remolina. With the points from Sánchez (at times he was unstoppable) and García Barros, plus a couple of bombings from Mariano Epifanio, the locals scored a 10-0 run to get 17 (45-28) in what was a great moment for the Rockies.
But there was more, Veronesi did not give up, Montero entered well and the red dared to dream of the lift. There appeared the very good hand of Joaquín Cabré to make three triples in a row and give orange a lot of peace of mind. The team led by Sebastián García entered the final quarter winning 56-40.
Far from lowering the intensity, Depo continued to concentrate, Independiente very erratic (Villanueva scored just three points and Almendra closed with 12, two of them in the complement) and the maximum did not stop rising, reaching 22 (62-40) with seven minutes to play.
Independiente made the last attempt, but Roca defined the night in advance. The final minutes were for the youth (Graffigna, Justus, Casemayor and Covarrubias) and to start thinking about Friday’s key duel against Perfora. At home, Depo smiled again and continues to dream.
SYNTHESIS
Deportivo Roca (72): Emiliano Bell 4, Joaquín Cabré 12, Adolfo García Barros 14, Lautaro Casemayor 0 and Agustín Sánchez 25 (FI); Mariano Epifanio 8, Jorge Coronado 4, Lucas Justus 3, Juan Ignacio Graffigna 2, Mateo Covarrubias 0. DT: Sebastián García.
Independent (50): Enzo Nieva 4, Gino Veronesi 21, Pablo Almendra 12, Lucas Villanueva 3 and Eitan Lodosky 0 (FI); Agustín Montero 7, Mariano Coria 0, Mateo Isolabella 2, Federico Larraín 0, Juan Francisco Iommi 1. DT: Marcelo Remolina.
Partial: 19-19, 35-26 and 56-40.
Referees: Carlos Herrera and Patricia Vivanco.
Gym: Gimena Padín Sports Center.
Note and photos: Adrián Hernández – Deportivo Roca press.
