POR - Cape Verde Islander Mascarenhas shows quality on boards

PORTO (UZP Liga de Basquetebol) - Rodrigo Mascarenhas isn't the biggest man on the court, but the star of Portuguese play-off finalists Porto plays like a giant when it comes to rebounds.

Having ended the Portuguese Liga de Basquetebol regular season as the fourth leading rebounder, the Porto forward has been even more effective on the boards in the play-offs.

Mascarenhas' play-off average of 11.2 is far more than the 6.8 of Shawn Jackson - the 2.03 Ovarense star he has competed against in the league's best-of-seven title series.

While most of Mascarenhas' rivals tower well above the 2m mark, the 27-year-old Mascarenhas stands just 1.98m in height.

The Cape Verde international had 11 rebounds and 11 points in Tuesday's 82-76 win at Ovarense that gave Porto a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven finals.

"There are no secrets. This has been part of my game since I started playing in youth categories," Mascarenhas told PA Sport.

"Normally, I have the right position for rebounding, which helps me a lot. I don't fear battling with taller players than me."

Porto finished the regular season in third place.

They lost all four games against Ovarense and the finals series could not have started in a worse manner as they fell 83-46 at home to their rivals.

"That was one of the most awkward games of my career," said Mascarenhas. "Everything went wrong."

Jackson, on that occasion, 12 points and nine rebounds compared to eight and nine boards for Mascarenhas.

With their pride hurt, Porto battled back and Mascarenhas has led the way.

In Porto's 87-79 victory in Game Two, he had 15 rebounds to go with his four points.

In their 68-64 Game Three triumph, he pulled down 11 boards and scored eight. After a 12-point, six-rebound performance in a 73-66 Game Four setback, he had his double-double of 11 and 11.

Now Mascarenhas and Porto have the opportunity to seize title glory in front of their own fans on Thursday.

"At the beginning, too many people said to us that we would be smashed 4-0 in the finals, but the truth is that we are playing a very good game and have the chance to win," Mascarenhas said.

"We have got all conditions in our favour to lift the trophy in the presence of our own supporters.

"We know it will be very difficult for us, but we can't waste this chance," added Mascarenhas, who will represent his country in AfroBasket 2007 which takes place in Luanda later this year.
Julio Chitunda
FIBA