National scored a huge point in his debut in the Basketball Champions League Americas by overcoming one of the most difficult rivals in the competition, Flemishthe last champion of America and a great candidate for the title. El Bolso, dominating the bass, with a great attack on the offensive rebound, controlling the rhythm and with his defense as a flag, clearly beat a team full of figures.
“The current champion, Flamengo, is emerging for first place,” is how the official FIBA website presented group B. However, the Uruguayan champion delivered one of the biggest blows in Charrúa basketball in recent times. It completely took a team that seeks to play high out of its rhythm, Alvaro Ponce He managed the energy of his team well, having very high intensity during the forty minutes. Although the foreigners were the great scoring leaders, at the moment of the tricolor’s break, it was with Connor Zinaich and four Creoles. A performance of 10, which excites the team to fight, not only for the classification, but also for first place in the group.
The match started imprecisely, where Fla had a better resolution in the five against five. Despite being forced to score, Nacional had an even start, with Connor Zinaich y Ernesto Oglivie leading from the bottom. James Feldeine It was the clearest in terms of percentages, with a couple of triples that gave the tricolor five ahead. The black and white team, who started 0/7 in triples, tried to be more vertical, against a tricolor that rotated and began to lose goals. You guys He broke the drought to put his team in front, leading the first team 16-14.
In a game that maintained low percentages, Alex Negrete He went deep to score near the rim and give his team a two-possession lead. Although the Bag could have been more vertical to increase its scoring, Shaquille Johnson With his mid-range shot, he returned the leadership to the Carioca. The team of Alvaro Ponce enjoyed a good attack on the offensive rebound, where Ezequiel Bell he added, to turn the game around. Gui Deodato from outside put his team in front. But Nacional regained the lead with more second-chance points, dominating in that area, scoring more than half of its points that way (17), on 13 offensive rebounds. The Uruguayan team entered halftime leading 30-29.
Nacional came out with a very high defensive tone in the second half, leaving its rival on two points in the first eight minutes. El Bolso continued adding points from second shots and some from counterattacks, taking a nine lead. At the minute’s exit, Bernardo Barrera he hit a triple in the corner and Patricio Prietokey on the defensive side, put his points to open an 18 lead. Although the black rubrone was unlocked, Zinaich with his front points, kept the Bag two digits ahead. The tricolor led 53-40 in the third.
In a game that maintained the trend, a triple by Negrete broke double digits. Flamengo, based on free kicks, came into play and Johnson with a triple put his team within two, with three minutes left. Luciano Parodi to the rescue with a tremendous bomb, and although Johnson stayed on fire, Nacional stayed ahead with Oglivie and Zinaich gravitating towards the end. Connor with free kicks and a long double in the final minute ended up crowning the hit. A great performance by the tricolor on the first date, which gave a defeat to the defending champion, in its first presentation.
