In a very long night, Los de Moreno cut Deportivo Roca’s streak of ten wins in a row and took a triumph from Gral Roca. It was 92-86 in overtime in the first point of the series.
A series that started at the Gimena Padin sports center and ended at the “Maipú Street Giant” of the Del Progreso club, protagonist of the Argentine League. Now, with the 1-0 in favor, the people of Buenos Aires will seek to close the story at home. The crossing will continue on Saturday.
What happened to have such a long night? Of everything. With a full “poly”, Indios claimed that the visibility of the 24-second clock was not ideal, the technical commissioner gave rise to the claim and despite the Depo’s attempts to solve the problem, the game had to change the stage. Starting at 9:30 p.m., the more than a thousand spectators traveled to the center of the city, to the “Progre” stadium, a club that, in a great gesture and very quickly, agreed to the request of the “oranges”. Everything started an hour later than planned.
Already in play, with a very nice atmosphere in the stands, Roca started with everything, pure effectiveness and defense. With just 2 minutes of action he went 8-2 and after 5 minutes he escaped 15-7 with 8 points from a very effective Joaquín Cabré (scorer with 23). And things kept happening. Indios received a coach to the bench for a player not included in the list (he was sent to the locker room for not being on the list) and also, Gutiérrez (shirt 23) appeared with “0” on the list. There were several minutes of discussion.
After the break, the visit improved thanks to Kevin Jerez Pilotti (14 points and 8 assists) and Mariano Piaggio (10), but the “orange” escaped again with the appearances of Troncoso (19 and 7 rebounds), Sasso and the reappeared Agustín Sánchez (he had just missed the series against the Sports Federation due to injury). The homeowner got to take 11 light (25-14) and ended up winning 25-16.
In the second set, Depo continued to rule, although not so clearly. Indios adjusted on both sides of the court and left-hander Lucero Marin (16) made use of his good outside shot. Everything was more even. A three-pointer by Marin put the visitors ahead (36-35) at 28 seconds, but a great double by Cabré and a “three-pointer” by Sasso (11) closed the stage 40-36 for Roca.
In the third quarter, the development was vibrant and even. With the triples of Pilotti, Martirena (key with 18 points and 5 rebounds) and Paredes (14), Indios went back to the front (55-50 the maximum at 7 minutes), but those led by Sebastián García closed well and everything it was tied at 57 with ten minutes left.
In the final segment everything seemed to be for the “orange”. With goals distributed and “going inside”, Depo dominated and with the usual defense escaped again. With Cabré, Troncoso and García Barros (14 at night), the locals scored a partial 11-2 to go 68-59 after 3 minutes.
However, Indios showed their hierarchy and put it on the court at the most difficult moment to begin to turn history around. A 9-2 response and again everything very even. With 2:30 to close, with the stadium screaming, Depo was up 75-70, but could not close it. He had many chances to win it and the ball no longer wanted to enter.
Indios turned the story around with a great moment by Marcos Revello (11) and “feigned” to take him in regulation. And he, too, was almost left with nothing. With a 76-75 advantage, the visitor lost a key ball, Troncoso ran to the rim, there was a foul, but the “orange” shooting guard, with 7 seconds to go, scored one of two on the line to equalize at 76. The last one was for Pilotti, but the point guard’s three-pointer didn’t go in and five more minutes had to be played.
In overtime, between nerves and mistakes, Indios was better. Despite this, Depo was in the game and fighting until 48 seconds left (82-84), but the lack of effectiveness and the losses took away the 11th win in a row. Neuquén “Chiqui” Paredes, with his free kicks, settled the game and the people of Buenos Aires embraced a great victory, against Deportivo Roca who made it clear why, with a brilliant campaign and a squad that leaves everything in each game, he got into in the fight with very strong and armed teams to ascend.
Note and photos: Adrián Hernández – Deportivo Roca Press
