RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil) – In the first semi-final game of the Basketball Champions League Americas Final 8, Bigua and Quimsa brought the heat in a back-and-forth fight that was a battle to the final seconds as Bigua found the last-minute momentum to seal the win 98-91 and move onto the final.

The first quarter foreshadowed the battle that the game would see as Quimsa managed to take a slight three-point lead thanks to an 8-point effort from Juan Brussino shooting 75 percent from the floor.

Brussino and Mauro Cosolito continued to put up an offensive effort for Quimsa, but Bigua found their scoring momentum tipping in 30 points in the second quarter alone as Donald Sims and Luis Santos showed off their versatility as Sims controlled Bigua’s ball movement while Santos grabbed defensive boards to keep Quimsa off the scoreboard.

Though Quimsa started to panic in the second quarter with fouls and turnovers, they found their rhythm once again in the third quarter and outscored Bigua 26-16 to come back and lead by three points once again heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

Tied at 84 with just under three minutes to play, a 9-2 run from Bigua gave them a big enough advantage to keep the lead into the final minute, but it was their clutch shooting from the free throw line that allowed them to continue to pull away from Quimsa and punch their ticket into the final.

The duo of Sims and Santos proved to be unstoppable for Quimsa’s defense as Sims finished the game with 34 points including shooting 100 percent from the free throw line on 12 attempts and 61 percent from the floor.

Santos added a double-double of 24 points and 13 rebounds including 11 defensive rebounds and shot 69 percent from the floor in the win.

Ivan Perez also added 15 points for Bigua in the win, and no other player from Bigua scored more than 8 points despite shooting 50 percent as a team.

Bigua’s physicality in the paint to find the basket was one of their keys to winning despite being beat in transition and allowing Quimsa to grab their own rebounds and score multiple times in the game.

Scoring chances and defensive rebounding were what kept Bigua in the game as they allowed easy baskets from Quimsa, as well as their effortless ball movement that allowed top scorers open looks at the basket.

While defensive woes and fouls cost Quimsa an opportunity to win as they could not stop Bigua’s leading scorers from finding the rim, their bench rotation had a much stronger game and were more fluid on the floor.

Brussino finished the game with 22 points and 4 assists, leading the team in both categories, while Cosolito added 19 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Franco Baralle added 16 points including 9 points from the three-point line.

One of the biggest contributors in two-way play for Quimsa was Eric Anderson Jr. once again, who notched a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds including 10 defensive rebounds.

Bigua will now face the winner of the semi-final between Minas and Sao Paulo, moving onto the final on Apr. 9 to determine the winner of BCL Americas Season 3.

FIBA