Under the third day of competition in the South Central Senior Men’s Tournament, the Argentine Handball House witnessed an exciting match between the Chilean and Argentine national teams. The encounter concluded with a 27-27 tie in the last minute, keeping spectators on the edge of their seats until the end.
Throughout the match, the score was tight. Argentina went into halftime with a two-goal lead. However, in the second half, the Chilean team posed a challenge to the home team, even taking a 3-goal lead at one point. In the final stretch, the Gladiators managed to come back and take the lead with a score of 27-26. Nevertheless, with only 10 seconds left on the clock, the Chilean team equalized.
Following the draw, Daniel Ayala, a player from the Chilean team, stated: “It was an incredible atmosphere, it’s very nice to play in this arena. And, although we’re happy, there’s a bittersweet feeling with the result.”
Another surprise occurred at the beginning of the day, as the Paraguayan team defeated their arch-rivals Uruguay by 26-24. It had been about 30 years since the Paraguayans had managed to defeat the Uruguayan team, but this time luck was on their side. Both the coaching staff and the players expressed that from the beginning of their preseason, their goal was to secure victory against Uruguay and position themselves well in the standings.
Meanwhile, Brazil defeated Costa Rica 47-11, securing the top position in the table with 6 points and guaranteeing their participation in the World Cup. Argentina and Chile remain in second place, both with 5 points, while Paraguay has 2.
Post-match statements: Jorge Duarte, player for the Paraguayan national team: “We’ve been analyzing the match since our practices in Paraguay, Uruguay was the goal and we achieved it. We still have the other match where we can finish fourth if we set our minds to it.”
Daniel Ayala, player for the Chilean national team: “We prepared a lot from Santiago to improve our tactics and defense. We’re proud of this tie, we wanted the victory, but we’re quite satisfied with the draw.”
Leonel Maciel, goalkeeper for the Argentine national team: “We need to analyze among ourselves, fortunately the tie may not hinder our path in this championship, obviously we’re not happy with how we played.”
Photos: CoSCABal/Germán Paez.
