In the first duel of the double day that closed the eighth date of El Metro, the faces Verdirrojo and Tabaré were seen. The first came in the tenth position, holding a 3-4 record, while their rival on duty was one notch below, with a 2-5 record. Those led by Ignacio Ortega took to the field with Giovanni Corbisiero, Andrés Dotti, Martín Aguilera, Nahuel Amichetti and Marcelo Rosas. For their part, those led by Diego Palacios began with Leandro Taboada, Facundo Medina, Manuel Oyenard, Agustín Cabillón and the Argentine Ignacio Alessio. Those in charge of imparting justice were Gastón Rodríguez, Fernando Pastorino and Álvaro Labiuza.
The meeting held at the Romeo Schinca gym presented a fairly balanced start, in which both teams were clear about where they had to attack. The cast of Cerro sought to hurt from beyond 6.75 meters, being important for this both Giovanni Corbisiero and Nahuel Amichetti. For their part, those from Parque Batlle tried to damage the low post with the presence of Ignacio Alessio, who every time he received the ball in his area of influence made a difference. As the minutes went by, those of Calle Prusia maintained a high effectiveness in triples, while those of Brito del Pino found the scoring of Leandro Taboada, who was extremely aggressive when attacking the basket. With a bomb on the horn of the first quarter by kid Yamandú Morganti, the “local” managed to open a seven-point lead (29-22). At the start of the second period, the level of play dropped considerably, something that was expected, since both teams had field percentages much higher than usual. The team dressed in gray continued to depend excessively on what Alessio could generate, who at times had the support of Manuel Oyenard from Minuena, who became strong in taking the offensive rebound. When the triples stopped entering, Verdirrojo opted to exploit the fast attack, taking advantage of the fact that in that department he has one of the best players in the tournament, the sanducero Andrés Dotti.
At the beginning of the second half, the Cerrense group was at the forefront in the electronic in figures from 46 to 38. In the first bars of the complement the best version of the “visit” could be observed, that of the hand of an inspired Lea Taboada , managed to match the actions. The Yale native grabbed the game for him, as Alessio was quite controlled, Medina missing and Meira watching the game from the rostrum with a contracture. His rival also had a shorter rotation, due to the absence of Manuel Monteverde, who suffered a tear in last Saturday’s game against Sayago. With three bombs practically in line with Santiago Pernas, those led by Diego Palacios seemed to be long in the score. However, Dotti had other plans and every time his rival approached, he planted a bomb that restored his team’s peace of mind. After not having been able to actively participate in the offensives throughout the third period, Alessio was once again decisive in the paint, constantly attacking Rosas, who despite leaving his life, could not face the Santa Fe center. In the final minutes of the match, parity reigned, with both teams having opportunities to win, but since the match was so beautiful they decided to extend it a little more.
After the end of regulation time, the judges whistled a technician to Taboada, who claimed a foul in his favor on the last play. In the first incidence of the extension, the base committed a new fault, which meant the fifth in his personal account. Without one of its main figures, Tabaré completely collapsed. A triple by Amichetti, added to the good effectiveness in free practice by Corbisiero and Dotti, tipped the balance in favor of Ortega’s team. Finally, Verdirrojo was left with the victory by 98-92 and thus achieved a neutral record of 4-4. The winner was the performance of Andrés Dotti, who scored 31 points and distributed 8 assists, well accompanied by Nahuel Amichetti with 26 goals. On the loser’s side, Leandro Taboada finished as top scorer with 27 points.
The next match for the Cerro team will be on Tuesday, when they have to face Stockolmo first thing in the morning. That same day, but in the second shift, the Parque Batlle team will be measuring against Unión Atlética.