The reality of each of these teams was expressed on the parquet of the historic “Poli” in the San Martín neighborhood. Instituto is the leader, the champion who is looking for his bi, the team that is now working to polish its game, to stay with the number 1 of the regular season and to arrive with the ideal set-up for the playoffs. Athens, meanwhile, is at the bottom of the table, a site contrary to its history, but which goes hand in hand with a basketball present during the season of a team that struggles with everything.
The game was becoming attractive with the passing of the minutes. And the beautiful duel of fans, who gave him a very good setting and a nice playlist on the pitch. The visit took him well for three quarters of the game, but in the last one there was a heartfelt reaction from the Greek, which reduced margins and put him in suspense. Of course the logic reappeared. La Gloria knew how to close it and was left with the 84-72 victory.
Instituto took advantage of the break in the qualifiers for the Basketball World Cup to recover players with physical ailments and grow in their level. Every time this team accelerated, it marked clear differences with this Athens. The defensive solidity and discipline on both sides of the court were seen for several minutes. If there is an extra pass, it is the consequence of a collective movement. And that always translated into an advantage on the scoreboard. The sin? He seemed to have the game on track, but in the last quarter Athens came upon him. These are the details that make noise for Victoriano and on which he is working in the face of decisive instances.
On the other side, Athens knows that it is playing to avoid relegation. The arrival of coach Álvaro Castiñeira is the shot at the end. DT prepares his team to reach the Play-In as best as possible, the series that will be held by those who finish in 19th and 20th place in the regular phase. The coach wants his team to defend, be intense, know how to adjust the marks, help and changes. But before the Institute he might not capture it in the first half.
The Greek, at times, leaves the game a lot, gets cloudy and makes mistakes (sometimes childish) that are expensive. The same, last night he played a very good second half and he knew how to keep up with the leader, he got dangerously close on the scoreboard and was competitive. It is not little in these times of extreme need. Other positive points to keep in mind: The team didn’t break last night, as it has so many times in previous games. A more determined Mariani in attack, the self-confidence of Araujo and the points of McClenton.
The match
In the first half of the first quarter, Instituto quickly showed the present of each of the teams. La Gloria went out to play with the confidence of knowing how to do it. Athens, meanwhile, with its urgencies. The visit scored a 15-5 run, in 4m30 of play. And that advantage was almost a constant throughout the first half.
Instituto managed a distance that rarely fell below 10 points. When some attempt at a green reaction came, solutions quickly appeared. Although in the final quarter the most interesting part of the game came when, averaging the fourth. Athens reduced to 4 (62-66). But that’s as far as the Greek came. After a timeout, with a challenge from Victoriano, Instituto closed the game and won 84-72.
What comes for both of them will be several days to continue working. Each one in his own, in his objective. Athens will play once more on March 11, when it will receive a visit from Regatas de Corrientes. La Gloria, two days later, will host the Rower in Alta Córdoba.
