Benfica secured its first appearance in the Basketball Champions League this Sunday by beating Germans Brose Bamberg 73-87 in the final of the qualifying tournament. It is the first time in history that a Portuguese team will be present in the Basketball Champions League.
The Reds had already beaten Golden Eagle Ylli (67-92), from Kosovo, and Keravnos (65-73), from Cyprus, and now defeated a team from one of Europe’s major leagues. The big figure of the game was the winger Ivan Almeida, who finished with 39 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals.
Welcome, @SLBenfica! Ivan Almeida puts on superhero numbers to take down juggernauts Brose Bamberg in final – SL Benfica is first team in #BasketballCL! pic.twitter.com/b5Z5oJRsDQ
– Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) September 25, 2022
Norberto Alves’ team thus secured a historic qualification for the regular phase of the FIBA Champions League. Benfica is part of group F, along with the Spaniards from BAXI Manresa, the Latvians from VEF Riga and the French from Limoges.
Competition held at the Fidelidade Pavilion, in Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon.
Brose Bamberg-Benfica, 73-87.
At half time: 33-44.
Led by Ademir Zurapovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Michal Proc (Poland) and Radomir Vojinovic (Montenegro), the teams lined up and scored:
– Brose Bamberg (73): Amir Bell (9), Justin Wright-Foreman (25), Jaromir Bohacik (21), Gabriel Chachashvili (2) and Christian Sengfelder (6). Also playing: Tyreese Blunt, Vaidas Kariniauskas (2), Kevin Wohlrath, Jannis Sonnefeld, Solomon Young, Spencer Reaves and Patrick Heckmann (8).
Trainer: Oren Amiel.
– Benfica (87): Aaron Broussard (8), João ‘Betinho’ Gomes (2), Toney Douglas (10), Terrel Carter II (10) and Ivan Almeida (39). Also playing: José Barbosa (5), Mekram Bem Romdhane (4), Tomás Barroso (3), Maik Zirbes and James Ellisor (6).
Coach: Norberto Alves.
Scorers’ march: 21-20 (10 minutes), 33-44 (half time), 59-70 (30 minutes) and 73-87 (final score).
Attendance: about 1,200 spectators
Source: DN
