With a packed stadium the last match of the day was played, Taubaté vs Nacional met again this time in the semifinals of the South Central Club Handball Championship at the Emecal Gymnasium.
In this exciting Brazilian classic, Taubaté started 4-0 up in the first minutes of play until Álvaro de Araújo scored for Nacional. The team coached by Francisco Stringhini managed to tie the game but the effective defense of the local team, plus the saves of goalkeeper Lucas Santos were the key to go to the break 15-10.
In the second half, Nacional did not get off to a good start, defensive errors and turnovers were exploited by Taubaté. The match was vibrant with the crowd in the stands cheering for both teams. Taubaté showed its power and closed the game 26-21. The MVP of the match was Lucas Santos.
Post-match statements:
Guilherme Gama, Taubaté player: “We just played a semifinal. I think it is the most disputed semifinal of the tournament. It’s a Brazilian classic, Taubaté vs Nacional, tomorrow’s final with Pinheiros has been the biggest national super classic in recent years, tomorrow will be defined in the smallest details”.
Matheus Da Silva player of Nacional: “Te had a very tough semifinal against Taubaté and yesterday we also had a very tough game with them, we lost by one ball, today we were outplayed. We show how it is our team and we fought to the end.
Tomorrow we have the match with San Fernando and it will be a very tough game as well, they have a very tactical game. Now it’s time to rest, we’re going to study the opponent and see how we do”.
Relive the Taubaté vs Nacional semifinal on our YouTube channel Handball SC America.
Photo: CoSCABal/Germán Paez
By: Martina Gallo
