Atenas is still alive on its way back to the National League. This Saturday night they took a key victory against Sportivo Suardi, in Santa Fe, by 75-71 and tied the final of the Northern Conference 2-2. In this way, everything will be defined next Tuesday at the Carlos Cerutti sports center.
With the help of his captain, Lucas Arn, “El Griego” managed to resist the gale of the Santa Fe team, which made things difficult again towards the end of the game, but he managed to pull it off with a lot of personality and hunger for glory.
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Precisely, Arn was the author of 41 points, shooting 8/11 in doubles, 3/7 in triples and 16/17 in free. Additionally, he had 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a PIR of 49 in 38 minutes on the court.
It was a memorable performance and also the support of Gustavo Peirone’s team, which did not have good collective work, nor other great individual performances and depended on the power forward hierarchy, who did what they wanted.
A duel almost identical to the previous one in Santa Fe
If anyone was distracted and missed Game 3, this Saturday night they had the chance to relive almost the same emotions, but with one small detail, the winner was different.
Once again, Atenas managed to dominate the scoreboard almost from start to finish and Suardi battled from behind to not lose track at any time. The biggest difference for the “Greek” in the entire game was eight points in favor and the local team was only able to take the lead with 3 and a half minutes remaining. Although it was just a sigh.
Peirone’s team once again hindered the rival offensive with great intensity on the perimeter (Zurschmitten was key) and a great defensive balance to not allow counterattack points. This was reflected in the poor 27% in triples (4/15) of the Santa Fe team, who had to rely on the interior game of Martínez and Rigada to find space.
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On the other side of the court, meanwhile, “El Griego” was aggressive in attacking the paint, achieving a high percentage in doubles (59%) and causing 23 fouls from the opponent, which he knew how to capitalize with 85% in free kicks (23 /27). Arn had a lot to do with it, as he pushed himself to the limit on the court to try to get his teammates to find him in the areas where he causes the most damage: in the low post and at 45°.
An end to the heart attack
Without a doubt, the break of the game seemed to come with 3 minutes 12 seconds remaining, when Santiago Calderón scored a double at the buzzer and put Suardi in front after trailing for almost the entire game.
The faces of the Athens players were evident. Soup again. But fate, chance or circumstances ended up working in favor of the Córdoba team.
It all started with an offensive foul by point guard Víctor Cajal, who with his team tied 61-61 vehemently complained to one of the referees and received a technical foul. In a hostile environment, “El Griego” took advantage of the opportunity: Montero scored the free kick and then hit a three-pointer from another game to make a difference of 4 points: 65-61.
Montero celebrates Atenas’ victory against Suardi. (Photo: Germán Ruiz/Atenas)
What came next was an exhibition by Calderón and Arn. First, Suardi’s guard responded with a triple on the edge of possession and then with a double and foul that allowed him to tie the game at 67, with a minute and a half left.
Immediately afterwards, the captain of Atenas, at the physical limit, asked for the ball at 45 degrees and scored a double while stepping on the three-point line to go ahead. But Calderón’s response was with a penetration and a turn to get rid of Arn himself and tie it again at 69.
However, the “Greek” scorer had one last ace up his sleeve. With less than 30 seconds he asked for the ball again in his favorite place and advanced towards the painted area inventing the best play of the game: a feint, contact with the help and when he fell to the ground, he released the ball to score the double and the lack.
From that advantage (72-69), the Cordobans managed to defend the triple attempted by Calderón and achieved a key victory to continue dreaming of promotion.
Now, he will have the opportunity to close the series on his court and in front of his people. An all or nothing match, which will leave a lot to tell.
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Report by Ignacio Garcia Iturriza.
2024-06-02 03:33:45
#Athens #heartstopping #duel #Suardi #define #final #Córdoba #Notes #Sports
