Jujuy Básquet lost to Villa San Martín by a score of 75-73 in the opening game of their playoff series at home, according to an April 2 report. The match was decided in the final seconds after a closely contested game.
The outcome is significant as it puts Jujuy Básquet at a disadvantage early in the playoff series, increasing pressure for the next matchup. The teams will meet again this Friday at 21:30 hours in the “Federación” stadium.
Throughout most of the night, Jujuy Básquet maintained a lead, starting strong with an 11-2 run that forced Villa San Martín’s coach Eduardo Japez to call a timeout. This helped his team recover and narrow the gap, ending the first quarter just one point behind at 20-19. In the second quarter, both teams continued trading points. Ibarra led Jujuy with 19 points while Gago matched him for Villa San Martín, also scoring 19 and guiding his teammates on offense. A buzzer-beating three-pointer by Conti allowed Jujuy Básquet to enter halftime ahead by four points (41-37).
As expected from such an even contest, victory was determined on the last play. Despite another good start from Villa San Martín after halftime, Jujuy remained narrowly ahead thanks to Grytsak’s perimeter shooting and finished the third quarter up by five (59-54). In the final period, neither side could pull away decisively; with only seconds left and both coaches having called timeouts during crunch time, Villa San Martín tied it at 73 with nine seconds remaining.
In what proved decisive for the visitors, Simondi stole possession from Jujuy’s inbound pass and Gusmao scored on a fast break for a two-point win (75-73).
The result leaves everything open ahead of Friday’s second leg as both teams look to advance further in their playoff campaign.
