BUENOS AIRES (Liga Sudamericana) - Brazil international Nezinho had one of his finest ever performances on Tuesday night to rescue Winner Limeira in their Liga Sudamericana Semi-Final opener against Boca Juniors.

The Araquara-born playmaker provided points to keep Limeira within striking distance of Boca, and then scored the killer baskets to lift the Brazilian outfit to an 82-76 Group E triumph.

Nezinho, a solid reserve for the Brazilian national teams from 2004 through 2012, made six of his eight shots from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 26 points as Limeira took a big step towards qualification for the Final Four.

The 1.83m guard poured in a dozen points in the last quarter, when Limeira trailed by as many as nine.

He knotted the contest at 65-65 and then buried a three-pointer with 5:42 remaining to give the Brazilians the lead.

After Boca came back to tie it, Limeira got their noses in front again before Nezinho struck again, this time connecting from three-point range with 1:23 remaining to make it 76-71.

He than made four free-throws to help seal the victory.

In his summers with Brazil's national side, Nezinho was always a capable ball-handler who could enter the contest and help the side play pressure defense.

There have been so many good players in his era, though, that minutes were sparse for him at FIBA World Championships and FIBA Americas Championships.

He's getting his chance to shine for Winner Limeira now and making the most of it.

FIBA