The fourth edition of the South Central American Men’s Club Handball Championship, held in Taubaté, came to an end with the home team playing the final against their classic rival, Pinheiros.
The Taubaté team was crowned champion after beating Pinheiros 29-27 and qualified for the IHF Global Tour. The MVP of the match was Guilherme Gama of Taubaté.
With a large crowd at the Emecal gymnasium, the long-awaited final of the Handball Libertadores began. Vinicius Teixeira opened the account for the home team, but Pinheiros’ response was not long in coming. The first ten minutes were goal for goal, the intensity and friction aroused the euphoria of the public. Diego Hubner’s goal from 7 meters put the score at parity, but a series of posts and saves by goalkeeper William Santos generated an effective counter-attack to take the lead. Towards the end, the dynamic Aurinegro attack outwitted Pinheiros’ defense, which allowed them to dominate the final minutes of the game. The teams went to the break 15-11 in favor of the locals.
In the second half, good outside shooting by Pinheiros Juan Gull was able to hurt the solid black-and-white defense and get closer on the scoreboard. However, Taubaté fast starts took away any illusion of a draw from his Brazilian counterpart. In the end, goalkeeper Lucas Santos interventions made the crowd explode, pushing his team to extend the lead. Finally, Taubaté won the gold medal and was crowned champion in front of its people after defeating Pinheiros 29-27 and obtaining the qualification to the IHF Global Tour to be played in Egypt. The MVP was Guilherme Gama of Taubaté.
Post-match statements:
Vinicius Teixeira player of Taubaté: “The tournament was very tough, 5 games in a row with very strong teams, I think the strength of our squad prevailed, we managed to get all healthy to the final. The public also helped a lot and thanks to God we were able to win the championship at home, we are very happy.
Marcos Silva, Pinheiros player: “Throughout the tournament we had very good matches, we were consistent. We knew that this was a difficult match to build, now we have to go back home and keep working because there is still a long way to go”.
Relive this tremendous match on our YouTube channel
Photo: CoSCABal/Germán Paez.
By Camila Miranda Torres.
