Kazan.- the choice Cuban basketball player Vegital played a memorable game today at the Future Games in this Russian city, although it did not translate into a win.
He went into his semi-final match against a Vietnam team capable of defeating the Russian team on Sunday in the so-called B League of the event, undoubtedly giving him a notable endorsement.
Despite the preparations made and last-minute tactical adjustments, Andy Castellanos and Arly Dayan Zaporta were unable to keep up with the Vietnamese players' commands, and were very effective with their long shots and quick transitions with the ball.
The result was overwhelming, with the score no less than 7-20, in the face of seven minutes of physical play on the field located in one of the modern halls of the Kazan Expo.
Professor Julio Altonaga shared the strategy with his students, with a clear advantage due to their height, but with a noticeable difference in outcome to the 2×2 method, where baskets inside the bottle are worth 1 point and those outside the perimeter are worth 2 points.
Although in the early stages they tried to play point by point and defend fiercely, they soon realized that erasing the defect, and sometimes even growth, required infiltrating from a distance, controlling rebounds, and stopping the opponent’s attack.
He put in a lot of effort and effort to achieve a tie, which was achieved seconds before the end with a score of 26-26.
Then we moved to the “unknown” so far, which is a kind of penalty shootout, but in this case free kicks. Three mandatory rounds for each side, alternating, and then as many rounds as necessary…
Ebrín Torres and Andy scored two baskets while the Vietnamese failed once and were left to the fate of the burly Zaporta. He took the shooting line with confidence and efficiency, but his ball hit the rim in front of him and the “sudden death” began before hundreds of attendees expected.
A total of seven rounds passed until Abraham's failure, which he had done several times before, ended the match and the dream of reaching the final of a new event, unprecedented for Cubans and very demanding.
While the Vietnamese celebrated in style, like the “giant killers” of the exhibition, the Cuban side found solace in effort and learning, which is necessary now so that it can achieve victory in the future.
After a while, the Venezuelan Libertadores dominated Kazan Expo with a victory very similar to the one achieved by the Vietnamese, but in their case against the Russian host.
The final between the Vietnamese and Venezuelans smiled at the former, who took the lead through the computers and then withstood the onslaught on the field, even scoring from distance in crucial moments.
Thus ended the experience of the six representatives included in this second level, which included three from Latin America, from Cuba, Venezuela, and Colombia.
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