After a tight match, Verde de Gualeguaychú won the match 70–64, with Tomi Fabricius as their scorer with 14 points.
On Saturday night, the points began two minutes into the game and it was Schaaf who opened the scoring with a double for the host. The visit did not take long to convert with a triple by Dellavedova. Racing’s inconclusive defense cost several conversions of the 6.75 line by the rival and by the middle of the first quarter the electronic score was 10-9 with the minimum in favor of the local. The hits from the three by Paoloni and Leuze were key for Racing to take the lead in the score. But, with a visit of good presence, the first quarter ended 18-17, maintaining the minimum in favor of the academics.
Four minutes into the second quarter, only one double was added for each team. Both teams showed little play on the field and many defensive clashes in the rival paint. The local defense was vital in preventing Regatas from converting and managed to take Lifschitz’s team a substantial distance 27-20 with three minutes left in the game. But parity was presented again and at the end of the segment Racing scratched the minimum 29-28 to stay afloat on the scoreboard.
After the technical talk in the locker room, the Gualeguaychú academics achieved the maximum again, 37-30, after three minutes of play, with the successes of Fabricius and Schaaf. Three-pointers by Dellavedova, Rausch and Aguirre brought Rimoldi’s team closer to 49-47. But finally, it was “Mono” Leuze who was in charge of breaking a partial equality of 49-49 with an accurate triple in the last second to close the quarter 52-49.
In the last chapter of the night, the defensive pressure under the rim of the premises continued to be vital to prevent the conversion of Regatas. The successes of a team were quickly matched by their rival. Being the last three minutes of the game, the score was at 59 equals until it was broken by Fabricius’ bomb in favor of Verde. Already for the last 30 seconds of the game, the distance was achieved again by Fabricius’ triple that blew up the Antonio Giusto stands. Regatas exhausted his efforts in search of glory, but finally the match ended 70-64 in favor of the Academy.
SYNTHESIS
Racing Club 70: Rinaldi 4, Leuze 13, Nieto 9, Fabricius 14, Linares 12, Paoloni 3, Panozzo 3, Schaaf 10, Balmaceda 2. DT: Diego Lifschitz.
Uruguay 64 Regatta: Dellavedova 15, Rausch 7, Saavedra 8, Aguirre 17, Fernández 17. DT: Santiago Rimoldi.
Partial: 18 – 17, 29 – 28 and 52 – 49.
Referees: Rubén Abelardo and Juan Maldonado.
Estadio: Prof. Antonio Giusto.
Source: Racing Press.
Photography: Juliana Garnier.
