Deportivo Amambay — Colonias Gold: 85:70, LNB

Deportivo Amabay beat Coloniaz Gold 85 to 70 in the LNB on Sunday evening. The home side held their nerve against the third-placed visitors and picked up a result that shifts the table picture. It was not a match built on fine margins — the gap opened early and stayed wide.

We had tipped Gold for victory. The form suggested it: ten wins from fourteen games, a side that had won three straight before Tuesday. But the visitors could not find a rhythm. Their shooting was off — 25 from 60 in the field — and they coughed up the ball 18 times. Amabay took advantage.

The home team shot 35 from 68, a percentage that tells you they made the right decisions. They pulled 35 rebounds to 32 and won the loose-ball battle with 11 steals against eight. The assists were even — 16 to 17 — but Amabay turned the ball over just ten times while Gold gave it away 18. That is where the game was decided, by then.

On the three-point line the visitors were sharper: 11 from 23 compared with 9 from 30. But it was not enough to offset the interior deficit. Amabay added four blocks to one and controlled the paint when it mattered. The free throws were modest from both sides — six and nine — so the scoring came from inside and from range in equal measure.

Amabay sit fifth with six wins and eight losses. They have not drawn a game all season, which is perhaps why they press so hard for a result. Gold remain third with ten wins, but this was a setback that could ripple. They were unbeaten in five before Tuesday and now that run is broken.

The prediction was wrong. We had given Gold the edge at 53 per cent confidence, and the match went another way. Not because of a single moment — there were none to point to — but because the visitors could not impose themselves. Amabay won because they were sharper, more disciplined, and lucky enough to have the deeper bench when the legs went heavy.