RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil) – SESI Franca wrapped up their participation in Season 6 of Basketball Champions League Americas on a positive note, finishing in 3rd place after defeating Instituto (74-59) on Saturday at Estadio Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Turning point
Helinho’s guys went on an 8-0 run in the first 5 minutes of the third quarter to go up 47-31. They would go on to manage that advantage the rest of the way without much suffering, stretching it to 21 points (65-44) with just over 6 minutes before the final buzzer.
Player of the game
Point guard Georginho De Paula got back to his normal level of production after an uneven showing in the Semi-Finals (8 points on 3-for-11 from the field and 7 turnovers). This time, the 28-year-old led the win with 18 points (3-for-5 from downtown), 10 rebounds and 5 assists for a 26-efficiency rating. Lucas Dias had 16 points, while Argentinian guard Facundo Corvalán and young center Nathan Fernández added 12 points apiece.
For Instituto, Álex Negrate finished with 18 points off the bench. Emmitt Holt had 13 points and 7 rebounds, while Bautista Lugarini added another 12.
Stats don’t lie
Both teams shot the ball poorly (Franca 33.9 percent and Instituto 39.3), but the Brazilians dominated the boards, 47-31, including 12 offensive rebounds to just 2 for their opponent. That allowed them to go out in transition, where they had a 16-8 edge in fast break points.
Bottom line
This is the second BCL Americas medal for Franca. They won it all in the 2022-23 season and then went on to lift the FIBA Intercontinental Cup trophy later that year.
They said
"It was a very tough loss in the Semi-Final. It wasn’t easy to recover from that, but this team has a lot of quality, and we did. With this win, we showed character. This third place is good for us. We’re going for more,” said Franca point guard Facundo Corvalán.
FIBA