Obras completes overtime comeback to defeat SESI Franca

BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) - Despite trailing early, Obras pushed in the fourth quarter and forced overtime to eventually claim a 97-96 comeback victory over SESI Franca on Monday night, in front of the home crowd at Estadio Obras Sanitarias.

Franca developed a comfortable lead in the first quarter, leading by 8 points thanks to a solid effort early from Lucas Dias, who already tallied 9 points on 80 percent shooting through the first quarter.

Andre Spight and Hugues Andela led Obras with 5 and 6 points respectively, but with the rest of the rotation contributing just 10 points and shooting 37 percent as a team, they trailed 29-21 early.

Franca continued to put pressure into the second quarter, with Dias adding another 11 points, tallying 20 points by the half including going 6-of-9 from two-point range.

Spight and Hugues once again led Obras with the help of Felipe Inyaco who added 8 points by the half, as Obras dominated in the paint, but Franca's bench rotation continued to be the difference as well as their domination on the boards.

Obras continued to work and saw progress in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 6 points as they outscored Franca 25-22 thanks mostly to Spight and Andela's efforts as they both tallied 16 points by the end of the quarter.

And even with Obras finding the answer for Dias, who continued to lead Franca but tallied just two points in the quarter, Wesley Ferreira and Charles Hinkle picked up the slack to keep Franca in the lead. Juan Pablo Venegas closed the third with a splash, scoring from the opposite free-throw line as time expired which gave Obras a vital spark heading into the fourth.

In the fourth quarter Obras gave one last push, still dominating in the paint and also using their length in the paint to rack up second chance points as Venegas pushed to score 20 points.

Tied at 88-88 with 30 seconds left to play, neither team would get the decisive basket and overtime would decide the winner between the two teams.

The final quarter and overtime for Jeffrey Solarin saw him tally 11 points, helping to keep Obras on par with a Franca team that had Dias add 11 himself in that time.

Once again tied, this time at 96-96 with just over a minute to play, Andela hit a final free throw that would hold as the game winner as Obras completed the comeback.

Spight and Venegas both tallied 20 points in the win for Obras, with Andela adding 19 points and leading the team with 9 rebounds.

Dias led all scorers with 33 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals, while Ferreira added 15 points and 6 rebounds while Hinkle added 12 points.

FIBA