The Depo, unstoppable, was one victory away from the classification

Deportivo Roca extended its great moment by defeating El Biguá de Neuquén at home by 68-65 and achieved its seventh consecutive victory, reversing an adverse situation in the tournament and staying one step away.

Deportivo Roca is having a dream closure of the season. He was sixth, with a 7-9 record and a difficult final stretch, but he stuck to his game, the unity of the group and “match by match”. And so he began to win and dream. Now, he is one celebration away from the playoffs. Deportivo Roca is the team of the moment in the Patagonia division of the Federal League: a great and long-suffering 68-65 victory against El Biguá de Neuquén, another “early final won” and they are now 7 in a row to continue in the qualifying zone. If on Saturday he beats Centenario, as a visitor, he will continue in the race.

With this new celebration, the “orange” was left with a 14-9 mark, the same record as El Biguá and with an advantage over Petrolero and Pacifico (both with 13-10). A victory on the final date will give him the ticket and he even has a chance to pass even if he falls, but it will depend on other results.

Wednesday night was one of nerves, suffering and relief. Biguá started better and led by Emilio Santana (16 and 6 rebounds in the game), Leonel Rodríguez and Santiago Pascual took the first lead, but Depo turned history around with the leadership of a historic player: Adolfo García Barros, scorer of the game with 18 points, in addition to adding 5 recoveries. To “Fito” was added the leading role of Facundo Troncoso (7 in the fourth). The “orange” took the first segment 19-16.

Everything changed in the second set. The visit complicated their defense and DT Mauricio Santángelo rotated his players a lot, achieving very good results. After 4 very even minutes, the people from Neuquén put in a partial 10-2 to escape 33-25 and closed the stage very well. Fric contributed from the bench, Santana and Ravera pulled the strings and Depo had a lot of trouble finding a goal. Biguá took the stage 42-32.

In the third quarter came the “orange” reaction. Biguá was loaded with fouls, Agustín Sánchez (16 and 5 rebounds) entered the game more and García Barros was his partner. Emiliano Bell also appeared with vital points and Troncoso (13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists) and Cabré (7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists) worked hard on both ends of the floor.

The “orange” cut the difference, people got into the game and the night was warm and colorful. Roca had the draw on several occasions, but Biguá responded with Santana. And the people from Neuquén managed to get 7 to 120 seconds from closing, but Depo had a good end of the quarter and was one triple: 55-52.

At the start of the final ten minutes, the best of the homeowner was seen. The “orange” became very tough in defense (23 points scored by Biguá in the complement), he was able to run and turned the score around. With a 9-2 run, Garcia’s team went from a tie at 59 to a 68-61 win with 3 minutes remaining. The people from Neuquén felt the wear and tear and lost, by five fouls, to Fric and Rodríguez and the rest was complicated.

Everything seemed resolved, but Roca had to suffer. Ravera did not lower his arms and some local errors left everything open. Biguá had the ball to tie with 13 seconds left, but the triple did not go in and Depo hugged the winning rebound. Then, to celebrate and with great desire and for a good time. It is that the “orange” enjoys a dream moment and knows that it depends on itself to be in the playoffs.

SYNTHESIS
Deportivo Roca (68): Emiliano Bell 8, Facundo Troncoso 13, Joaquín Cabré 7, Adolfo García Barros 18, Agustín Sánchez 16 (FI); Mariano Epifanio 3 and Jorge Coronado 3. DT: Sebastián García.

El Biguá (65): Facundo Zambrano 2, Emilio Santana 16, Luciano Ravera 11, Santiago Pascual 9, Leonel Rodríguez 12 (x) (FI); Nahuel Muñoz 7 (x), David Fric 8 (x), Alan Zambrano 0, Álvaro Santambrogio 0 and Leandro López 0. DT: Mauricio Santángelo.

Partial: 19-16, 32-42 and 52-55.
Referees: Eduardo Ferreyra and Marjorie Stuardo
Field: Gimena Padín Sports Center.

Note and photos: Adrián Hernández – Deportivo Roca press