Sesi Franca crowned 2023 BCLA champions

FRANCA (Brazil) - Season 4 of the Basketball Champions League Americas came to its exciting culmination with Sesi Franca being crowned the champs in front of their home fans after beating Flamengo 88-79.

Sesi Franca came out with energy and momentum on their side and grabbed the early 12-point lead after the first 10 minutes. A key part of their quick start was that seven players had already got into the scoring column.

Flamengo trailed by as many as 17 points in the second quarter but ended up still having a 21-20 edge in the quarter. Gabriel Galvanini hit a shot at the buzzer from just inside half-court to cap off Flamengo's 9-3 run over the final minute-plus of the first half.

Guilherme Deodato was also a big part of Flamengo's run and success, as he scored 10 points in the frame.

Sesi Franca's Lucas Dias picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter with his team leading 53-40, and once he left the game, Flamengo went on a quick 9-3 run to get to within seven points.

Santiago Scala then put an end to that potential swing in momentum with his two three-pointers to put Sesi Franca up by 13 points.

Flamengo never wavered and responded with a 9-0 run to cut the score to 62-58 and they ultimately only trailed 64-60 heading into the final quarter of the season.

After Flamengo had cut Sesi Franca's lead to 68-65, the lead ballooned back out to 11 points in favor of Sesi Franca thanks to a 9-0 run. The game of runs continued with Flamengo going on a mini run to get back with six points on multiple occasions.

Sesi Franca's lead was too much to overcome, however, and they held on for their nine-point victory to cap off their perfect 10-0 season.

Balanced scoring was once again the name of the game for Sesi Franca, as they had five players score in double figures. Lucas Mariano and Georginho De Paula led the way with 16 points each, Mariano also adding 7 rebounds, while De Paula added 5 assists and 4 rebounds and shot 6-of-9 from the field.

Dias chipped in 15 points and 7 rebounds and David Jackson turned in a solid line of 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Deodato left it all on the court for Flamengo and finished with a game-high 25 points (15 points in the second half) along with 6 steals and 4 rebounds. His 6 steals were tied for the most by a player in a game in the BCLA this season.

Flamengo struggled from the free-throw line, connecting on only 52 percent of their attempts. Sesi Franca converted 55.2 percent of their shots from the field compared to Flamengo's 38.4 percent.

FIBA