FRANCA (Brazil) – Defending champs SESI Franca continued their strong start to Season 5 of the Basketball Champions League Americas after winning a high-scoring game over Obras Sanitarias, 94-87.

After holding a narrow two-point lead at halftime and then losing the lead briefly early in the second half, Sesi Franca rolled on to outscore Obras 34-17 in the third quarter to open up a 19-point lead heading to the final quarter.

SESI Franca led by as many as 24, but Obras cut into that lead and made things interesting thanks to a 29-17 fourth quarter.

Lucas Dias shined once again, finishing with a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double along with 3 assists and 2 blocks for a game-high efficiency of 26. The 28-year-old big man also shot 3-of-7 from three-point range.

Heissler Guillent and Wesley Ferreira each added 14 points and shot 50 percent from the field (6-of-12 and 5-of-10, respectively).

Juan Venegas and Pedro Barral led the way for Obras with 24 and 23 points, respectively. The two players also combined to knock down half of their team’s total made shots from the field (17 out of 34).

In a game decided by single digits, SESI Franca were able to get more shots to fall from beyond the arc and outscored Obras by 12 points in three-pointers.

Obras drop to 1-1 while SESI Franca remain unbeaten at 2-0 in Group D. Obras will play next on January 20 against UdeC (0-2) before facing Sesi Franca in a rematch on January 21.

FIBA