ANTALYA (Turkiye) - Fans in Lisbon have grown accustomed to SL Benfica treating them to great nights of European basketball in recent years, and the Portuguese champions ensured this tradition continues into a third season, by defeating Swiss champions Fribourg Olympic 91-85 in the Final of Tournament 1 of the BCL Qualification Rounds on Saturday.
Ahmaad Rorie scored or assisted on Benfica's first 22 points to propel the Lisbon powerhouse to a strong start as they built an 11-point lead, 52-41, by the halftime interval.
Fribourg however started chipping away at the deficit and jumped ahead, 70-68, on a Eric Nottage layup with nine minutes left to play in the fourth stanza.
The two teams traded blows and the Final seemed destined for a tight finale but Rorie drilled a three-pointer 4:30 from the final buzzer for Benfica to regain the lead, 83-81, and hold on to a comfy cushion until the end.
Rorie finished with 24 points and 7 assists while Nicolas Carvacho and Marcus Thornton contributed 17 points each for Benfica, with the first also coming up with a team-high 8 boards. Anthony Williams had 16 points and 5 rebounds for Fribourg in a losing effort.
Benfica, as winners of Qualification Round Tournament 1 have been drawn into Group G of the BCL Regular Season, which means they will face BAXI Manresa (ESP), Bertram Derthona Tortona (ITA) and newcomers NINERS Chemnitz (GER).