Argentina: between the joy of another success and the concern for Aispurúa's injury

BUENOS AIRES (FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2017) - Everything seemed picture perfect for the Argentine giants. Their victory against Venezuela had already happened and the team began to focus on what will be this Wednesday’s main duel, against Colombia, at 9:05 PM (host country hour). However, all the joy became tears and nervousness when, a few minutes before the final marker, center Sofia Aispurúa jumped for a rebound and twisted her left ankle as she fell. Her painful screams signaled that something serious had happened.

Last night, the press release emitted by the Argentine Basketball Confederation (CABB) informed a “patella luxation in the left knee and third grade synovitis. She was taken into X-Rays, and there was no evidence of any bone injury. An MRI will be taken in 48 hours, when there's less liquid.” Meanwhile, Aispurúa should refrain from moving the area, and should completely rest.

It's a significant loss for Argentina, especially when considering that this isn't a tall team, and that Aispurúa had been playing a good tournament, averaging nine points and five rebounds. “Although we have to celebrate our victory and we're happy, we're also sad because of what happened to Sofi. We hope that it’s the least severe of the possibilities, but it's not looking good. We have to keep moving forward, this can't distract us from our dream. We’ll fight for her, Victoria Llorente and Diana Cabrera, who couldn’t be a part of this process due to injuries,” said point guard Melisa Gretter, who contributed 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

At the court, Argentina dominated Venezuela from beginning to end. First, they gave them some of their own medicine and subdued them with defensive pressure throughout the court. This allowed Argentina to run and find reliable options to reform. It ended up being a very convincing performance by the hosts that are fixed on reaching Spain 2018.

“We're fine. We tried to fix some of the things that we didn't do well on Sunday, such as rebounds. But we must keep on working. We knew how to carry forward [yersterday’s] game. We guarded well their strong players. Now we must take advantage of the little rest time that's available and think about Colombia,” Gretter stated.

Colombia, precisely, were Argentina’s executioners in the battle for third place at the FIBA South American Championship in 2016. “Although we still have that unfinished business, what’s past is past. We have to reach our best version and reach the victory,” stated the 24-year old native of Rafaela, Argentina. She then added: “I'm feeling well. I feel like I'm contributing to my team and at the same time, I'm enjoying having the fans on our side.”

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