Boca Sweeps Series and Advances to Semifinals

Boca defeated Oberá Tenis Club 86-78 in Game 3 of the series, clinching a 3-0 sweep and a ticket to the semifinals. They will face the winner of the Quimsa SdE vs. Instituto CBA series.

With the need to win, OTC came out as the protagonist. Sansimoni tried to control the pace of play, pushing the visiting team. With a quick 5-2 start, the plan worked. But Boca adjusted its defense in time and then corrected its offense to take a 9-7 lead. Caffaro took control of the boards, despite the physical defense that Russel Jr. applied.

Local head coach Nicolás Casalanguida rotated his entire roster, using 10 players with 3:54 remaining in the quarter. From there, he dominated the opening period, sharing the lead until the end of the quarter at 25-23.

The home team eased its anxiety, and gradually pulled away on the scoreboard. With solid defense and five-for-five shooting, they found the extra pass and extended the lead to 38-30. Coach Fabio Demti called a timeout for Oberá and it helped. With a two-pointer from Vorhees and a three-pointer from Stepper, they closed to within three: 38-35 with 3:26 until halftime.

Caffaro became the master of the paint, calming the home team. The visitors relied too heavily on outside shooting without success and didn't score for nearly two minutes. That allowed Boca to regain control of the game and extend the lead to close the half at 48-37.

Nerves and sloppiness were the highlight of the start of the third quarter. The game became physical with post battles. In fact, there was a flagrant foul called on both Caffaro and Brocal. Only then did the game return to how Boca wanted to play, taking advantage of Oberá's offensive drought: 54-39 with 6 minutes to play.

Demti's team tried to get back into it, but they struggled to score and the inside players Russel Jr. and Vorhees were limited with 3 fouls each. They closed the third quarter at 61-55.

Boca came out determined to close out the series in the fourth quarter. They tried to run and move the ball so that OTC couldn't adjust defensively. A three-pointer from Vega extended the lead to 11: 70-59 with 7 minutes remaining. Demti called another timeout.

Langston extended the lead with an easy two-pointer in the paint to 16: 76-60. The visitors made one more effort to change the course of the game. With shared scoring and some steals on defense, they got back into it.

With 4 minutes to play, Draper made a shot from four meters out, cutting it to 9: 78-69. But when he scored, he requested to be substituted due to an injury to his right leg. Boca found itself in trouble; with two minutes remaining, Oberá closed to within four, 80-76, controlling the game.

Seba Vega was able to convert a straight shot to give them six points of breathing room with 42 seconds left. Martin Cuello sealed the game and the advancement from the free throw line, for the 86-78 final and the ticket to the semifinals.

Boca 86: Scala 2, Stenta 1, Smith 10, Barreiro 8, Caffaro 13; Vega 13, Giorgetti 8, Faggiano 14, Cuello 13, Langston 4, Guerrero 0

OTC 78: Sansimoni 19, Brocal 16, Barrales 3, Draper 17, Russel Jr 2; Azpilicue 6, Andújar 0, Vorhees 9, Bird 6