This time the process was different. After an even first quarter in which Nacional went up 34-30, Peñarol adjusted his defense and with a devastating start to the third quarter (9-0) he not only turned the score around but held an advantage of between 9 and 12 points to close the game with authority without having to endure even a hint of reaction from the tricolor.
In a match where fighting over technique stood out, the American Lee Roberts was the great figure of the night scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 reboundstwo of them in attack.
The son of a military man who lived in Alaska, who did high jump and soccer until he stayed with basketball, who trained in his family in Perth and who came to Uruguay in the 2019-2020 season to play with Aguada and become champion, is in his first season in Peñarol.
In the first classic he struggled a lot and being irregular in attack was decisive: in the last ball he defended Santiago Moglia, put a cap on him and fastened the victory in which John Flowers was the great figure.
In Peñarol he assumes more responsibility in offense than he showed in his two seasons in Aguada.
“We are the best defense in the league and we are a very united team”, he told VTV as soon as the classic triumph had been consummated.
“I feel like I’m in the best moment of my career. Now the stoppage is going to come in handy because we are a veteran team,” he said in Spanish.
Along with Roberts, Salvador Zanotta and Martín Aguilera shared the classic podium.
Leonardo Carreno
Zanotta closes Romero’s paths
Zanotta led the game with notable breaks in speed and it was key with the weapon with which Peñarol broke Nacional: the counterattack.
Every time Diego García entered, he freed himself and managed to give fluidity to the attacks.
Ended the night with 9 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds.
Aguilera put up a tenacious defense against Dominique Morrison throughout the entire match.
On a team that makes defense the foundation on which it builds its attacks, Aguilera’s tone is critical.
Back he performed perfectly all night and as if that were not enough, in the third quarter, was decisive for Peñarol to take the lead on the scoreboard and total dominance in the game: he put seven points and grabbed a whopping four rebounds on offense.
Leonardo Carreno
Pablo López, two classics, two triumphs
Another who played a very good classic always playing for the team was the Mexican Orlando Méndez, author of 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and three recoveries. He shot seven triples and only got two but he was able to be the leader of the classic in the category with Quincy Miller of Nacional, author of 10 points, all in the first half.
Flowers, a classic hero at UA, played a serious game with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
The forward had two key contributions in closing: his only triple (he shot six) and a blocker.
From the bank, Peñarol added 17 points against 9 of Nacional where the best, without playing a great game, was Morrison with 23 points.
Miller stayed after a great second quarter and Johndre Jefferson signed a good record with 14 points and 9 rebounds but was absent in the key moments of the game. The very low level of Santiago Moglia was also surprising, zero points in 12 minutes with three shots from the field, Manuel Romero was left alone with a good first quarter and of those who came from the bench the one he wanted the most was Patricio Prieto.
Nacional must now play play-in with a sporting disadvantage for finishing ninth. It is the best of five and starts 0-1 down. He will play against Aguada, if the aguatero loses the classic this Friday with Goes or with Olimpia if the rojiverde is the winner.
