This Saturday, Benfica stamped its ticket to the final of the Hugo dos Santos Cup. The Eagles’ match against Sporting was completely controlled, they faced a scare with a late recovery from the lion, but recovered in time. Norberto Alves’ team won 66-73.
The first half was controlled practically entirely by the red team. Sporting took control of the scoreboard in just two moments in the first period (8-6 and 10-9) and fleetingly. At the end of the first ten minutes, Benfica was already leading by eight (12-20) and at half-time the difference was already 14 points (32-46).
Although Sporting improved in the second half, Benfica maintained a safe distance in the third period. At the start of the last ten minutes, an outside shot left the Eagles winning by 13 points (51-64) and that was when Pedro Nuno Monteiro’s team clicked to relaunch the discussion.
The lions tightened their grip on defense and André Cruz, who until then had had more defensive responsibilities, also took over the baton in attack. Nine unanswered points left the Lions team just one away (66-67), but Benfica ended the negative moment with an important triple from Aaron Broussard, which left the difference at two possessions.
After having done their hardest to get back to their rivals on the scoreboard, Sporting went through moments of greater difficulty in attack. The following ball possessions were not taken advantage of by the lion and time always ran in Benfica’s favor, which extended the ball possessions for as long as possible. Just under a minute and a half away, Aaron Broussard took responsibility again and expanded the difference to seven points (66-73), delivering the final blow to the match.
Holding the record for titles in the Hugo dos Santos Cup, with 12 wins, Benfica will look to win the competition for the first time since 2017/18. This Sunday, the Reds will face FC Porto in the final.
Tags: Benfica wins drbi final Taa Hugo dos Santos zerozero .pt
