Caja 87 secured an 83-72 victory over Palmer Basket in the LEB Oro on Thursday evening. The result overturned the early confidence placed in the visitors, who were expected to take the points. The home side defended their territory with a discipline that was not always visible in their recent outings.
We had given the away side a 71 percent chance of success, but the match refused to follow the script. To be fair, Palmer had been finding their rhythm in the final weeks, but the game plan fell apart under the pressure of a hostile crowd. The visitors looked comfortable in the first half, but the structure began to crack.
And here's the thing about these nights. It is rarely the stars who decide the outcome, but the collective defensive shape. Caja 87 dug in when it mattered, shutting down the perimeter shots that had been troubling them in previous outings. The visitors found themselves forcing difficult attempts, and the shots simply did not fall.
The visitors are now sitting in 15th place after 32 games. With eight wins and 24 defeats, the margin for error has vanished. They came in hoping to climb, but left with their legs heavy and their tally unchanged. The gap between expectation and reality was wide on this occasion.
The home side, meanwhile, proved once again that they can grind out results when the form is shaky. The scoreline tells you everything you need to know about the intensity in the fourth quarter. It was not pretty, but it was enough.
