Live from Buenos Aires. Opening the BCL Américas Final Four in Buenos Aires, Franca secured their spot in the championship game with an 83-71 semifinal victory over Nacional de Montevideo.
Nacional started strong with a 4-0 run, pushing the pace and running the way their point guard Luciano Parodi wanted. But David Jackson opened up the floor for Franca with a three-pointer, followed by another from Bennett to tie the game at 6.
From there, the Brazilians began to take control of the quarter, playing at their tempo and establishing Felicio and Lucas Días in the paint. The lead stretched to 13 points by the end of the quarter: Franca 29-16.
In the second period, Nacional looked to quickly cut into the deficit. With two layups and a three-pointer in a minute and a half, they pulled within 9: 32-23. This forced Franca's head coach to call a timeout. Martínez was vital on defense for Nacional, cutting off passes and generating fast breaks that the Montevideo team failed to capitalize on.
Franca relied on ball movement and finding clean looks, mostly from three-point range. Franca extended their lead to 42-30 with 4 minutes remaining in the quarter. The Uruguayans picked up their defense at midcourt, playing more physically. This caused turnovers in Franca's offensive sets. As a result, Nacional got within 6 with 2:27 on the clock: 42-36. Another timeout for Franca. The end of the quarter didn't change much. Franca couldn't recover their lead and Nacional couldn't get any closer. They went into halftime with Franca leading 46-38.
Martínez and Oglivie with four points each and a three-pointer from Thomas pushed Nacional to tie the game at 49 with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter. Franca tried to return to their efficient style and got a 5-point lead with 2:42 on the clock: 57-52. Despite a deep three from Feldeine to cut it to 1 (60-59) with 54 seconds left, Franca closed out the third quarter strong and went into the final quarter leading 64-59.
Nacional took nearly three minutes to score in the fourth quarter. Franca punished them with a 10-2 run with 6 minutes remaining: 74-61. The São Paulo team controlled the clock, using 22 seconds on each possession and didn't allow Nacional to get into a rhythm. The lead ballooned to 16: 78-62 with 3:20 to play. Nacional tried to make the final score look better, but Franca wouldn't allow it: 83-71.
Nacional (71): Parodi 2; Thomas 11; Feldeine 11; Oglivie 14; Zinach 7; Espíndola 7; Gómez 0; Barreda 3; Martínez 6; Prieto 7; Méndez 3
Franca (83): Bennett 11; Felicio 6; Lucas Días 16; David Jackson 12; Laterzza 9; Mineiro 4; De Paula 18; Rodríguez Jr 7