RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil) - In a tough battle between Brazil’s finest, Sao Paulo punched their ticket to the 2021-22 Basketball Champions League Americas Finals by defeating Minas Tenis Clube, 93-79, Thursday night at the Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro.

Led by do-it-all forward Bruno Caboclo, Bruno Mortari’s squad opened a double-digit lead late in the second quarter and administered it through the second half as Minas threatened but was never quite able to get within striking distance.

Caboclo simply didn’t let them, shutting down the paint with a pair of blocks and going off for a game-high 28 points.

The former NBA player shot 9/16 from the field, excelling at every level of the offense.

The 26-year-old Caboclo went 4/6 from long distance and 6/6 at the free throw line. He notched another double-double by also pulling down 12 boards.

Despite the absence of Shammell Stallwarth, Sao Paulo was still able to showcase its potent offense, finishing 53.1% from the field and a perfect 15 of 15 at the charity stripe.

Their endless supply of offensive weapons was able to always keep Minas at arm’s length, as any time Leonardo Costa’s outfit got close, Marquinhos or Corderro Bennet answered with a timely bucket.

At the tender age of 37, Marquinhos dropped 15 points and added four rebounds and will be going for his second consecutive BCLA championship after winning the 2020-21 edition last year with Flamengo.

Bennet added 19 for Sao Paulo, who had a 46-30 edge in points in the paint.

Minas, who upset Flamengo on Wednesday, missed star guard Shaquille Johnson’s production but compensated with an excellent showing from long distance.

After quickly finding themselves down 11-2 to open the game, Minas fought back to get themselves within a point at the end of the first stanza.

The Belo Horizonte outfit was able to stay afloat throughout the game by shooting 11/26 from beyond the arc, led by Renan Lenz (22 points).

The sharpshooting big went 4/9 from three-point territory. 19-year-old Gui Santos (16 points) shot 3/6 and added 3 rebounds and 4 assists.

Tavario Miller was their only other player scoring in double digits, contributing 10 points on 12 shots, as both Alexey Borges and Facundo Corvalán combined for 10 assists but only 17 points.

Minas’ point guards ran a clean offense with 8 turnovers, but Sao Paulo even beat them in that facet of the game with just 7.

Where they couldn’t really compete was on the boards, with Sao Paulo outrebounding them 37-24 thanks to the imposing size of Caboclo, Lucas Nogueira and Tyrone Curnell.

And this time, there would be no late-game heroics from Minas, as the winners celebrated in the waning seconds with this alley-oop from Marquinhos to Caboclo:

Sao Paulo will now face Uruguay’s Biguá in the BCLA Finals on Saturday April 9th to determine who will cut down the nets and be crowned as new champions.

The game is to be played at the Carioca Arena 1 at the conclusion of the 3rd Place Game between Minas and Quimsa from Argentina.

FIBA