Messi nets 3 to save Argentina

When it really mattered and when the pressure was most intense, Lionel Messi delivered.

With Argentina on the brink of being eliminated from World Cup qualifying for the first time in almost five decades, Messi scored all three goals in a comeback 3-1 victory Tuesday at Ecuador — overcoming the thin air in the Andes.

“It would’ve been crazy if Argentina didn’t play the World Cup,” said Messi, adding that the team “will change, will grow a lot, will be stronger after this.”

But there’s still work to do for Argentina, the two-time champions who lost the final three years ago to Germany, 1-0. Messi has yet to hoist a major trophy for his country of birth, a contrast to the laurels he’s brought Barcelona.

ISLES EYE BELMONT FINISH

Islanders owner Jon Ledecky said the team will play at Barclays Center through the end of next season, and the ‘singular focus’ beyond that is for a new arena at Belmont Park.

“We are locked and loaded on Belmont,” Ledecky said Tuesday. “We have the blinders on for Belmont. We’re not looking at other places, other things, other opportunities. We want to make Belmont a reality.”

The Islanders submitted a bid last month with several other partners, including owners of the Mets and Madison Square Garden, to develop a new arena at Belmont Racetrack.

BRADFORD KNEE OK

Another MRI on Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford’s left knee has revealed no additional injury, after he was pulled early from the game at Chicago because of continued discomfort.

HOOPS COACHES FREED

Three college basketball coaches charged in a bribery scheme were each freed on $100,000 bail on Tuesday after initial appearances in a federal court.

Chuck Person, an assistant coach at Auburn, declined to comment as he left the Manhattan courtroom. An attorney representing Arizona assistant coach Emanuel Richardson, said the impact of the case on his client was devastating. And Tony Bland, an assistant at Southern California, declined to comment.