Valdivia — Puente Alto CD: 86:62, LNB

Valdivia saw off Puente Alto 56:37 in the LNB on Saturday evening, a result that shifts the momentum in Chile's top flight. The hosts played the second half a man up in terms of composure, closing the game out with a efficiency that Puente Alto could not match. By then, the gap had widened beyond what the scoreboard suggested.

The opening quarter set the tone, with Valdivia's three-point shooting proving decisive. They hit nine from 34 attempts compared to Puente Alto's four from 26, and here's the thing — those long-range shots created space that the visitors' defence simply could not recover from. The hosts' 12 steals against nine turnovers tells its own story of disruption.

To be fair, Puente Alto moved the ball better in the first half, recording 11 assists to seven, but the difference came in conversion. Valdivia made 32 of their 71 field goal attempts while their opponents managed just 23 from 67. The rebounding battle was tighter — 41 to 37 — yet it mattered less when shots were not finding the net.

We tipped Valdivia to win at 60 per cent confidence, and the match delivered exactly that. The visitors had been three games unbeaten before this, but the pressure told. Puente Alto's 21 turnovers against 17 for Valdivia proved costly, especially when the hosts turned those mistakes into transition points.

Valdivia sit fourth after twelve games with seven wins and five defeats, while Puente Alto remain second on nine victories. The gap between them narrows to three points, and the table goes out of the window in these games. What matters now is who handles the pressure better when the season tightens.