By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Matching Baxi Manresa at 3-1 on top of Group F of the Basketball Champions League Regular Season, SL Benfica prevailed, 92-82, in Pavello Nou Congost Tuesday.
Former Seattle standout back in his NCAA years, Aaron Broussard has displayed his talents all around Europe over the last decade. Solid showings in the BCL this season extended to Manresa and a game-high 23 points behind 9/18 field goals in Gameday 4.
The Eagles became the second team to notch three wins in a row on the road debuting in the Champions League Regular Season. Tofas was the first in 2019-20.
The Portugal champions, guided by Norberto Alves, did not get the tiebreaking advantage though. Manresa trailed for all but 32 seconds and launched multiple comeback bids all the way into the fourth quarter, but kept falling short mainly due to the effective outside shooting of the Benfica wings. The lion’s share to Broussard connecting 4/8 three-pointers.
Former NBA point guard Toney Douglas finished with 17 points to go along with six assists, four rebounds, and one steal. Cape Verdean Ivan Almeida went for 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Jerrick Harding poured at least 16 points in the 3-0 start and extended the streak with 18 points to his name but was held to the losing end. Manresa was coming off five BCL wins in a row at home, all by a margin of 15 points or more.
Elias Valtonen (personal) was sidelined alongside injured Batatunde Olumuyiwa and sick Dani Perez.
Postgame press conference:
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League