Sao Paulo beats Quimsa to notch key Group B victory

BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) - It's Lucas Mariano's world and both Sao Paulo and Quimsa just live in it.

The Brazilian power forward erupted for 29 points and 12 rebounds, leading the paulistas to a 75-72 overtime win over Quimsa on Tuesday.

This back-and-forth affair had plenty of lead changes once both teams settled into the flow of things, as Sao Paulo had jumped to a 10-2 lead before the defending champions came roaring back with a 15-0 run of their own.

From that point on, it was a battle of the Argentinians' balanced attack led by Brandon Robinson and Diamon Simpson against the Lucas Mariano and his long-range heroics.

The 27-year-old got it done on both ends of the floor and shot 5/9 from downtown, becoming instrumental in stemming Quimsa’s charges both at the end of the first half and the end of the third quarter.

 

Quimsa never relented and often took advantage of Sao Paulo's mistakes, outscoring the Brazilians 18-8 in points off of turnovers. It just wasn't their night on offense, as Sao Paulo kept them to 32.9% from the field and just seven three-pointers.

Robinson (13 points and 7 rebounds) and Simpson (14 points and 7 boards) were the only double-digit scorers for the Argentineans, but Lucas Mariano and Sao Paulo eventually got some help.

Jefferson was key on defense with 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks and steals, while Georginho De Paula – who played all 45 minutes – notched a triple-double (15 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists) that included this ferocious dunk that almost won it at the end of regulation:

 

It was an incredibly important win for Sao Paulo – now 2-0 after routing Universidad de Concepción on Monday – in a duel between the two clear-cut favorites in Group B.

Quimsa (1-1) is now in second place after also defeating the Chileans on Sunday.

 

FIBA