Ferro defeated Gimnasia y Esgrima de Comodoro Rivadavia 74-70, forcing a Game 4 on Saturday at 11 a.m. Argentina time. The series is now 2-1 for Comodoro. Jano Martínez led the home team with 17 points.
With the need to win at all costs, the home team was very intense on defense, especially on passes that Comodoro attempted to Carabali in the paint to take advantage of his size near the basket. Bettiga and Diez alternated on him and were helped by Defilippo, who managed to steal some passes. Ferro went ahead 13-10 in four minutes of play.
Comodoro adjusted its offense and looked for Dato with his outside shot and thanks to two three-pointers went ahead 16-15. Russian Bettiga responded with a three-pointer to return the lead to the home team, 18-16.
The rotation of both rosters was seen with changes due to performance and foul accumulation.
The end of the quarter was very even. Both teams in the penalty, with trips to the free throw line. But the home team managed to win the period 22-21.
Despite ending the first quarter close, Ferro ran again and defended hard. It was able to distance itself 30-22. Comodoro rotated its lineup again, in order to get a foothold and withstand the onslaught.
The game became very physical, the referees let play with a lot of friction. The home team achieved an 11-point lead, 40-29, but Comodoro began to raise its defense to get to 40-35. Ferro was able to control the situation and went to halftime 45-35.
The return from halftime showed the home team trying to manage the lead. It moved the ball with good shot selection. It reached a 12-point lead: 53-41. But the visiting team reacted with three-pointers from Grun and Torretta to get within 3: 53-50. Fede Fernández called a timeout for the home team.
The home team's confusion continued; on the other side Grun had taken courage and with two three-pointers, accompanied by a layup from Rivero, Comodoro went ahead 58-53. Nerves took over Ferro and the visitors took advantage to close the third quarter 60-56 ahead.
Anxiety and Ferro's need made everything uphill. Comodoro with Grun and Torretta as the axis of attack, controlled the first part of the period. But Ferro's fighting spirit led Rodrigo Gallegos and Ale Diez to push their team to go ahead 69-68 with 4 minutes left in the game.
Jano Martínez converted a three-pointer for Ferro to make it 72-69 with 1:50 remaining, after rotating the ball a lot around the perimeter without finding a clean shot. Comodoro tried to tie but failed on two occasions. It went to the line several times and missed most of them. Then, it had to foul Lezcano, who with his 2 free throws set the final score at 74-70.
Ferro 74: Defelippo 7, Martínez 17, Torresi 4, Diez 10, Bettiga 11; Lezcano 3, Hernández 9, Rodríguez 3, Gallegos 10
Comodoro 70: Carrasco 2, Dato 10, Chacón 11, Cisneros 10, Carabali 5; Torretta 15, Cosolito 0, Horton 1, Rivero 5, Grun 11