Franca qualify for quarter-finals with win over UdeC

CONCEPCIÓN (Chile) – Franca secured their spot in the Basketball Champions League Americas quarter-finals with a 109-87 win over UdeC at Gimnasio de la Casa del Deporte on Monday night.

Dominating in Group D going a perfect 4-0, Franca secured spots for both themselves in first and Obras Sanitarias in second with the win.

Lucas Dias had another hot start as he tallied 10 first quarter points for Franca, with Nathan Fernandes adding another 8 points shooting a perfect 100 percent from the floor including hitting two deep shots from beyond the three-point arc.

Alejandro Vergara and Sebastian Carrasco scored 9 and 8 points respectively, keeping UdeC close, but with the rest of their rotation contributing just 11 points, they fell to a 9-point deficit early, trailing 37-28 after the first quarter.

The UdeC bench picked up their game in the second quarter, with Marquez Letcher and Kevin Rubio each adding 5 points, but were no match for a strong Franca team with Dias, Wesley Ferreira and Marcio Santos all tallying at least 11 points by the half.

Santiago Scala continued to facilitate the playmaking for Franca as he tallied 9 points and 7 assists by the half, with Franca taking a 24-point lead.

Both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor in the first half with Franca shooting an impressive 63.16 percent. The teams were also evenly matched on the boards, but the difference came in transition, size and overall rotation.

Franca’s bench once again was good for 23 first half points while UdeC’s provided just 7. UdeC also committed 10 turnovers and 11 fouls, resulting in 26 points for Franca.

A 14-point third quarter from Derrick Woods cut into the deficit for UdeC, but Franca’s strength was apparent as Dias could not be stopped, adding another 8 points, while Scala notched another 4 assists for Franca.

UdeC did get more aggressive defensively on the boards, also causing more fouls and turnovers from Franca’s side, but still could not get the same level of production from their bench to cut further into the lead despite outscoring Franca 23-18.

The final quarter was once again in Franca’s control as Paulo Barbosa and David Jackson also added to the scoring with 7 and 8 points respectively, as six Franca players notched 12 or more points in the win as their eight-man rotation continued to dominate their group.

Dias led all scorers with 26 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, with Jackson adding 15 points, and Scala adding a 12-point, 11-assist double-double.

Woods led UdeC with 24 points, Carrasco added 19 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds, and Letcher added another 16 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the loss.

FIBA