Franco Balbi returned to Argentino de Junín to dispute the permanence series against Atenas de Córdoba, which began Monday, May 4, in a best-of-five fight to remain in the top division.
Balbi said he was back to help the club and trusts the team: "estoy muy contento por venir a dar una mano, confío mucho en el equipo y el club se lo merece," adding simply that he came "venir a ayudar." The veteran guard said he found a group determined to change course: "Me encontré con chicos que quieren sacar esta situación adelante. El grupo está bien, el clima es muy bueno," and insisted that "Si estamos juntos y positivos todo va a ir muy bien."
The numbers make the stakes plain: the series is best of five, and those opening games will be critical because the first two games are in Córdoba. Balbi warned the matches would be physical: "Estos dos primeros partidos espero que sean partidos duros, trabados." He also stressed Argentino's preparation and confidence: "Nosotros hicimos una buena preparación para llegar de la mejor manera a estos partidos y tenemos todas las armas para quedarnos en primera."
Atenas coach Manuel Buendía answered the buildup by putting the pressure back on his players and the home crowd. "Uno no sueña cuando es chico jugar un partido para no descender," he said, framing the series as a test of pride and consequence. Buendía demanded maximum effort: "Debemos terminar el partido vacíos, dando todo. Dios quiera que la moneda caiga de este lado. Vamos a hacer todo el esfuerzo posible para que esté a nuestro alcance, para dejar a Atenas en la Primera división, que es donde tiene que estar." He called for fan support and warned of a bruising contest: "Va a ser crucial que la gente nos apoye durante esta serie. Nadie quiere pasar por lo peor." On the court, he predicted a relentless opponent: "Durísimo, muy físico, seguramente me irán a buscar toda la cancha."
Put simply, this is a straight fight for survival in La Liga Nacional: Atenas reached the permanence series after a season marked by changes, injuries and instability, and both clubs now face each other to avoid relegation. The matchup — atenas cordoba vs argentino junin — opens with Atenas hosting the first two games, an advantage Buendía called vital because home-court support can lift a team under pressure.
The friction in the setup is clear. Argentino has reinserted Balbi into its roster and he speaks optimistically about preparation and weapons to "quedarnos en primera," while Atenas frames the showdown as a do-or-die sequence that requires leaving everything on the floor. The series being best of five concentrates that friction into a small number of decisive games: lose one of the early home contests and Atenas will have to chase the recovery on the road; if Argentino can survive Córdoba intact, Balbi’s return will have immediate payoff.
What happens next is simple and immediate. The first two games in Córdoba will set the tone for the best-of-five confrontation and will begin to answer whether Argentino’s bet on Balbi and its preparation can overcome Atenas’s need and the boost of playing at home. Both coaches have framed the series as physical and uncompromising; how each team endures that physicality — and whether the local crowd swings the tight moments — will decide who stays in the first division.
Balbi signed on to "venir a ayudar," and his return will be judged in a matter of days. If Argentino can match Athenians’ intensity in those opening home games and steal at least one result in Córdoba, the balance will tilt; if Atenas follows Buendía’s call to "terminar el partido vacíos, dando todo," the club may secure the very thing Buendía says it deserves: a place in the Primera división.
