SÃO PAULO (Brazil) — São Paulo picked up a statement win as they defeated Club Nacional de Montevideo 93-76 in Group B action of Basketball Champions League Americas at Ginásio Pol. Dr. Antonio Leme Nunes Galvão on Saturday night.

A strong defensive team, São Paulo held Nacional to just 9 points while scoring 15 of their own, led by Tyrone Crunell and Ralfi Silva with Silva manning the defensive boards.

Sao Paulo used their size to dominate in the paint while Nacional had speed on their size as they used the fast break and turnovers to score early, with Michael Smith leading them early.

While Nacional figured out São Paulo’s defense in the second quarter, São Paulo offensively had their best quarter yet as they scored 32 points extending their lead to 16 points at the half.

Malcolm Millers and Henrique Coelho led São Paulo with Miller shooting lights out from deep, hitting 5-of-7 three pointers and shooting over 77 percent from the floor.

Ricardo Fischer added to Nacional’s scoring while Smith continued to lead Nacional, with Gusto Semiglia and Franco Giorgetti adding support.

Nacional had the advantage shooting from deep when forced to try and close the gap to São Paulo, but turnovers plagued Nacional as São Paulo added over 20 points from turnover while dominating in the paint.

Leading by as many as 24 points in the third quarter, São Paulo’s bench continued to show how well-rounded their talent has been in this competition, though Nacional players like Silva and Corderro Bennett proved the speed and talent defensively the team had as they forced points in transition.

Nacional never gave up and pushed into the fourth quarter, outscoring São Paulo 24-22, but the first half deficit was too much to overcome and São Paulo comfortably cruised to a win thanks to back half effort from Lucas Stewart continuing to show how strong São Paulo is as a team as a deep threat.

Siewert led São Paulo with 19 points including five 3-pointers while Miller added another 19 points and 6 assists. Silva and Coelho both added 13 points, with Silva leading the team adding 9 rebounds.

Smith tipped in 20 points for Nacional including going perfect from the three-point line, while Semiglia added 12 points. Giorgetti tallied 7 rebounds and 6 points in the loss.

FIBA