Sesi Franca left no doubt. It is the team to beat in Brazilian and South American basketball. The club from the city known as the capital of the sport in the country beat Flamengo this Saturday (15) by 88 to 79 and won the unprecedented title of the Champions League of the Americas (BCLA), the Libertadores of basketball. And not only that: he reached an unbelievable 46 consecutive games without a loss.
IT’S CHAMPIONOOOOOO ? pic.twitter.com/HfHU3JLAs9
— Sesi Franca Basquete (@FrancaBasquete) April 16, 2023
Franca had the advantage of hosting the final phase of the tournament – the Final Four, that is, semifinals and decision – and, consequently, played the final duel with ample support from the fans in the stands of the Pedrocão gymnasium. In a tense match, Rubro-Negro, who in 2019 was the executioner of the Franca team by beating an NBB inside the opposing court, even tried to react at different moments of the game, but the hosts were almost always in control. Flamengo cut Franca’s advantage to four points before the decisive quarter, but the team from São Paulo managed to stay ahead and close the game consistently. Center Lucas Mariano, with 16 points and seven rebounds, was chosen as the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the Final Four.
?? Lucas CLUTCH Mariano ??@FrancaBasquete pic.twitter.com/L6DBxS6j0Z
— #BCLAmericas (@BCLAmericas) April 16, 2023
This is the third trophy won by the team commanded by Helinho Garcia in the season, after the Campeonato Paulista and the Super 8. In addition to winning the main title in South American basketball, the victory extended Franca’s undefeated sequence to 46 games, started in the state championship final. After losing Game 2 of the Paulista decision to São Paulo, on October 12 of last year, the team won the following duel to close the best-of-three series at 2-1. that culminated in the conquest of the BCLA, the three games that led to the Super 8 title and, in the most impressive of all feats, closed the first phase of the NBB with 32 wins in 32 rounds.
The best campaign among the 17 clubs in the national competition secured a place in the quarterfinals, where they will wait for the winner of the series between Pinheiros and Unifacisa, for the round of 16.
Winning the BCLA also means the possibility of going after another unprecedented title, the Intercontinental Tournament of FIBA (International Basketball Federation), in September, in Singapore. Although the South American competition is experiencing a moment of Brazilian dominance, with three club titles in the country consecutively (Flamengo, São Paulo and Franca), in the entire history of the Intercontinental, which started in 1966, there were only three basketball achievements in the Brazil: Flamengo twice, in 2014 and 2022 and Sírio, in 1979.
Franca will have five opponents in the fight for the title: the champion of the European Champions League (second most important club tournament on the continent), the winner of BAL (league on the African continent), the G-League Ignite (team of the NBA Development League , aimed at young players), in addition to two other teams to be announced by FIBA later, one of which must come from the Chinese league.
