It was an 80-70 victory, after a great first half in which he shone on the offensive side. Respaud and Lomello, the most prominent. The selected finished their participation in 11th place and with a record of 3-4.
End of the tour with a smile for the U17 Men’s National Team at the World Cup in Malaga. Those led by Leo Gutiérrez beat New Zealand 80-70 in their last presentation and closed the contest with 11th place, equaling the task carried out in the 2018 edition, played in our country. Argentina played a great first half, in which they got 20, but had a bad time in the second due to the physical superiority of the rival inmates who even tied the game. Juan Respaud was the top scorer with 17 points and Máximo Lomello was the most efficient with 13 points and 6 rebounds.
The match opened quickly with two long triples from Juan Bocca. From then on, Argentina was forceful and took advantage of the spaces offered by the rival defense. He set a blistering pace, pressed down the pitch and forced errors on New Zealand, quickly taking a 23-14 lead late in the first quarter. It was a great first quarter, with solidarity in attack and intensity in defense. Until then, the task of Máximo Lomello stood out, the main person responsible for decisively attacking the opponent’s painting.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Argentina flourished. The replacement on the perimeter kept the intensity going, was aggressive and got easy shots. The boys got to get 20 of light averaging the part. Although New Zealand reacted towards the end, they took advantage of some defensive errors from the national team and were able to narrow down to go 47-36 down at halftime.
By then, Lomello was the top scorer with 11 units, followed by 9 points from Juan Bocca. López Lorens and Drocezesky, both with 7, were the leaders of the bench who contributed goals and freshness to the rotation. Argentina shot 6/14 in triples and distributed 15 assists in 17 baskets.
The third quarter was all New Zealand. He imposed the big men’s inches on him and ravaged the paint. In addition, he adjusted on defense, causing a long offensive drought for the national cast. It was the weakest period in attack for the national cast. Without a three-point effectiveness, with a series of losses and consecutive sloppiness, the boys gave up the partial by 17-9 and went to the last quarter up by only 56-53.
Argentina had a bad time at the beginning of the fourth period. New Zealand continued to punish in the paint and even took the lead. The reaction came when the guys were able to improve on defense and forced losses or bad shots that allowed him to run. The offense returned to the rhythm of the first half and the points began to rain down. By way of counterattack, the national cast recovered the advantage and defined the game at the hands of Bocca, Respaud and Giovannetti until they put the final figures: 80-70.
After a great first half, Argentina did not shine in the second but got a victory to close their participation. Four players scored in double figures. Máximo Lomello was the most efficient with 13 points, 6 rebounds and a PIR of 22. The top scorer was Respaud with 17 points plus 6 assists. Giovannetti added 13 points and Bocca 12 with 4/9 triples.
With this result, Argentina closed its tournament obtaining 11th place, with a record of three wins (Egypt, Japan and New Zealand) and four losses. It is the second consecutive world championship in which our country has finished in that position, after the 11th place in the contest played in 2018 in Rosario and Santa Fe. The best historical performance in this competition continues to be the sixth place obtained in 2012.
The first World Cup experience for 2005 ends. A litter that began its journey in the South American U14, prior to the pandemic, where it won the championship by defeating Brazil, the host, in the final. But the road is just beginning for this group of players, who obtained a valuable touch thinking about their future and whose members will have the chance to fight for a place in the squad that will play next year’s U19 World Cup.
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Photo: Courtesy of FIBA
