Playing in Paysandú and after overtime, the tricolors lifted the first international cup in their history after beating San Lorenzo.
The final that was played at the 8 de Junio stadium in Paysandú had a good number of tricolor fans from all over the country, who showed up with the hope of seeing the club they love win an international title. And they achieved it: National champion after beating San Lorenzo of Argentina 77-76 in extra time.
The technical director of the albos, Álvaro Ponce, put on the field the quintet composed of the Dominican James Feldeine, Mateo Sarni, Gianfranco Espíndola, the Chilean Manny Suárez and the Venezuelan Néstor Colmenares. For his part, Cuervo’s coach, Eduardo Costa, stopped a 100% Argentine team as a result of a recent sanction. Its starters were Sebastián Lugo, Lucas Pérez, Federico Grun, Gastón Córdoba and Iván Basualdo.
Nacional started very well, showing a lot of energy when defending, while on the other side their backcourt He led a surprising offense that scored 11 points in a row, prompting a quick timeout for Costa. At the start, the Argentines scored a couple of triples, although their scandalous number of unforced losses and their defensive fragility invited the bags to increase their advantage even further. Incredibly, the Uruguayans did not take the opportunity to completely pull away, and the first quarter ended with a score of 22-12.
The lack of aim cost them dearly, since at that moment the adjustment of the Cuervo coach began to be noticed, with plays in which the ball rotated and the man was always found free for the triple. To top it all off, the tricolor’s ring was closed (1/11 field goals) and although Ponce asked timeoutcould not prevent the Argentines from taking the lead. Manny, who had had a great start, was charged with fouls, and Basualdo, who had had a poor performance on both sides, uncovered himself and made Colmenares’ efforts fruitless. That second quarter culminated with an overwhelming 7-23, closing the first half 29-35.
For the complement, Nacional took the field with a lot of rebellion, with a clear intention to increase the pace of the match. Not only did he force Basualdo’s fourth foul – which forced Costa to change his strategy – but, as a result of greater efficiency, he scored a run of 20-11 and regained the lead. The entrants Gastón Semiglia and Anthony Peacock were key to maintaining that momentum that allowed them to go into the last period winning 49-46.
But San Lorenzo was not going to give up so easily. A 3+1 by Córdoba to open the last quarter anticipated how vibrant those final minutes were going to be. Semiglia – with 6 points – and Lugo – with seven points in a row – took the lead for their respective teams. Everything remained the same until reaching the clutchin which Nacional took a big step forward thanks to the expulsion for fouls by Córdoba and a great triple by Manny that gave them back the momentary lead. However, the crow tied from the free throw line and after a ear ball Feldeine Pérez scored what was perhaps the triple of the night to put it 65-62 in their favor.
On the next play, Basualdo committed his fifth infraction, which left San Lorenzo without its inmates for the remaining two minutes. Both Manny and Feldeine had a chance to tie the contest, but their shots fell short on both occasions. When it seemed that everything was lost for Ponce’s team, Facundo Rutenberg committed an unusual three-point foul on Espíndola, who, although he missed two of the free kicks, collected the offensive rebound of the third and tied it at 67 with 22 seconds remaining. Lucas Pérez had the victory in his hands on the last play, but great defense by Sarni prevented him from shooting.
At the beginning of extra time it seemed that the Argentines were going to take the duel ahead, but the search for points in the painted zone by both Semiglia and Manny turned out to be effective. The foul limit took its toll on the Argentines, and although they were able to win it at the end – a product of the tricolors’ inability to close the fight – they found themselves with an alba wall that prevented them from even shooting a basket.
