Franca inches closer to Final 8 after stunning Obras in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) – Sesi Franca continue to step toward their Basketball Champions League Americas 2021 Final 8 spot as they beat Obras Sanitarias 84-80 Tuesday night.

Led by Lucas Dias' 24 points, the Brazilians opened up a double-digit lead in the third and managed to hang on down the stretch despite the home team making it interesting in the final minutes.

Dias shot 4/9 from beyond the arc and also chipped in 4 rebounds, a pair of assists, one steal and one block.

 

Franca was simply better at the little things as Obras missed 12 of their 22 free throws and the Brazilians achieved a 38-31 edge on the boards.

However, Obras went down swinging, with Peruvian guard Juan Pablo Venegas (11 points) hitting a pair of threes and big man Lautaro Berra adding a couple of buckets to bring the Argentines within a point.

Fernando Zurbriggen led the way for them with 22 points on 7/12 shooting, including a perfect 3/3 from downtown. He added 5 assists, including this absolute beauty:

 

However, the Brazilians steadied the course with a three-pointer from Elinho Neto, who finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

Rodney Green added 13 points for the away team, while Danilo Fuzaro chipped in 10, including this amazing dunk that essentially put the game out of reach:

 

Franca (2-2) sits in second place of Group C play and inches closer to the next round with another window and a pair of games still to go.

 

FIBA