Sao Paulo knocks off Quimsa for first win

BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) – A game that went right down to the final buzzer, Sao Paulo managed to pull out their first win of Group B action with an 87-84 win over Quimsa at Estadio Obras Sanitarias in Buenos Aires on Saturday night.

Tayavek Gallizzi, Brandon Robinson and Juan Brussino went shot-for-shot for their team in the firat quarter, with Brussino, Robinson and Tayavek Gallizzi each adding 5 points, combining for nearly 75 percent of Quimsa’s points.

Corderro Bennett meanwhile shot 100 percent from the floor for 7 of Sao Paulo’s 20 points as they trailed 22-20 after one period.

Brussino continued to lead his team offensively into the second quarter, with Fabian Ramirez adding 6 points by the half, but Quimsa had no answer for Henrique Coelho in the second quarter, who added 8 points including two deep shots from beyond the arc.

The two tams found themselves tied 42-42 with 16 seconds to play, as Ralfi Silva, who did not play in the December window, knocked down one of two free throws to give Sao Paulo a one-point lead going into the half.

Evenly matched in the paint and with their speed in transition, Quimsa found an edge by beating Sao Paulo off the turnover, turning 4 turnovers from Sao Paulo into 6 points.

But Sao Paulo’s shooting was slightly more accurate, shooting 48.5 percent as a team, allowing them to gain the slight lead at the half.

No team led by more than 5 points in the first half, but Sao Paulo worked to force a 59-48 lead with just over 4 mins to play, but an 11-point scoring run from Quimsa pushed Sao Paulo and the two teams were tied 59-59 with just over one minute to play in the third quarter thanks to Robinson and Brussino finishing the quarter with 16 and 14 points respectively.

Trading baskets back and forth once again, the two teams found themselves tied once again 64-64 with 9 seconds to play, but a driving layup from Bennett allowed Sao Paulo to pull out a two-point lead to end the quarter.

With Malcolm Miller finding his rhythm for Sao Paulo along with Tyrone Curnell, and 7 Sao Paulo players tallying 8 or more points, Quimsa had to utilize their big four to try and keep up trailing by 5 points with 5 minutes to play.

Brussino, Robinson, Ramirez and Gallizzi all scored in double digits, fighting until the last minute to keep Quimsa neck and neck, but no other player cracked more than 5 points for Quimsa.

With one second left to play, with the score 86-84, Tyrone Curnell hit one final free throw to give Sao Paulo a three-point lead to hold on for the win.

Bennett led Sao Paulo with 19 points on 81.8 percent shooting going 9-of-11 from the floor, adding 5 assists. Silva added 14 points on 62.5 percent shooting and led the team in rebounds with 8.

Robinson led all scorers with 21 points including a perfect 100 percent from the free throw line, adding 4 rebounds in the loss. Ramirez added 16 points including 5 three-pointers as well as 9 rebounds and 5 assists in the loss.

FIBA