CD Huachipato vs Sportiva Italiana

Sportiva opened the stronger side, racing to a 10-3 lead, but Huachipato settled in front of a packed home crowd and trimmed the deficit. The visitors held a slender 20-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The momentum shifted firmly in the second period. Huachipato upped their defensive intensity and began to control the boards, overturning the one-possession deficit to take a 45-38 lead into half-time — a seven-point swing in ten minutes.

The hosts sustained that seven-point cushion through the third quarter. Huachipato entered the final ten minutes ahead 62-55, with the home crowd sensing the victory that would extend the series. But Sportiva had one more surge in them.

Trailing 62-55 entering the fourth, Sportiva chipped away possession by possession. The game became a nail-biting grind as both sides traded blows. With 40 seconds on the clock, Sportiva had nudged ahead 71-70. Huachipato, refusing to fold, fought back.

With seven seconds remaining, Huachipato's Ricardo Maass converted a clutch basket to put the hosts up 72-71, sending the gymnasium into a frenzy. Sportiva called an immediate timeout. One possession, three seconds left, the championship on the line.

Out of the huddle, Devante Wallace — Sportiva's go-to option all season — got the ball and rose for a jumper. The shot dropped through the net with three seconds showing on the clock. Huachipato had no response. Final score: Sportiva Italiana 73-72.

Devante Wallace — the hero. The same player who had led Sportiva through the regular season delivered when it mattered most, sinking the title-winning basket with the game in the balance. Wallace's composure under pressure defined the final play.

Ricardo Maass — Huachipato's standout in the clutch. His basket with seven seconds left looked like it would force a Game 4 before Wallace's response. Maass had helped Huachipato build and protect their halftime lead.

The collective defensive effort from Sportiva in the fourth quarter — holding Huachipato to just 10 points after they had scored 62 through three — was arguably the unsung foundation of the comeback.

The quarter-by-quarter shift tells the story: Sportiva outscored Huachipato 18-10 in the final period after trailing 62-55. That 8-point swing in the fourth quarter alone flipped the game. Huachipato had dominated the middle two quarters (45-38 combined across Q2 and Q3) but could not sustain the offensive output when the pressure peaked.

The 145 combined points sat below the 178.0 average from the two previous H2H meetings (Sportiva won those 107-73 and 94-82), reflecting a finals-style grind rather than the open floor of the earlier regular-season matchups. The first meeting in Valparaíso was a blowout; this was a dogfight.

Sportiva Italiana are champions of Liga Dos and, more significantly, earn promotion back to Liga Uno — Chile's top basketball division — for the 2027 season. The club from Valparaíso finished top of Zone A in the regular season with a 9-1 record and rolled through the playoffs, beating Luis Matte Larraín (2-1), Stadio Italiano (2-0), Sergio Ceppi (2-0) and finally Huachipato (3-0). Their combined playoff record: 9-1 across four rounds.

For Huachipato, it is a bitter end to a commendable finals run. They pushed the series favourite to the brink in Game 3 but came up one possession short. The club remains in Liga Dos for the 2027 season and will look to build on this campaign.

A classic finals decider decided by a single shot. Devante Wallace's name will be remembered in Valparaíso for years — his basket with three seconds left capped a perfect playoff run and delivered promotion. For the neutral, this was as good as Chilean LNB 2 gets: high stakes, a hostile road environment, and a game-winner under three seconds.