NBB Round 41 (Regular Season): Sesi/Franca beat Flamengo in the most crucial game of the week

There will be only one (last) round of the Regular Season in NBB. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

An exciting game between Top Four teams was played in Sao Paulo. Third ranked Vivo/Franca faced second-ranked Flamengo. Host Vivo/Franca (25-9) defeated guests from Rio de Janeiro (26-8) 97-91. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of Flamengo. Sesi/Franca made 16-of-19 free shots (84.2 percent) during the game. The best player for the winners was the former international point guard Georginho de Paula (197-1996) who scored 17 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. The former international guard Didi Louzada (195-1999) chipped in 21 points. The former international point guard Alexey Borges (185-1995) produced a double-double by scoring 12 points and 13 assists for the guests. Flamengo's coach Sergio Hernandez rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Vivo/Franca have an impressive series of fourteen victories in a row. Sesi/Franca maintains third place with 25-9 record having four points less than leader Minas. Flamengo at the other side keeps the second position with eight games lost.
Bottom-ranked Fortaleza managed to get a tenth victory. This time they won against eleventh-ranked UNIFACISA 81-73. American power forward Eden Ewing (204-1997, college: Texas Southern) orchestrated the victory by scoring 25 points and 7 rebounds. Enzo Oliveira contributed with 14 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. American swingman Christian Alaekwe (193-1998, college: St.Thomas, TX) answered with 16 points and 7 rebounds for UniFacisa. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Cearense (10-24) moved-up to seventeenth place. UniFacisa at the other side keeps the eleventh position with 18 games lost.
Leader Minas delivered the twenty ninth victory on Monday night. This time they beat 12th ranked Paulistano (15-19) 76-66 in Sao Paulo. Winicius Braga stepped up and scored 16 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Brunao Cardoso responded with a double-double by scoring 14 points and 15 rebounds. Paulistano's coach Demetrius Ferraciu tested ten players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Minas maintains first place with 29-5 record. Loser Paulistano keeps the twelfth position with 19 games lost.

Other games of round 41 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Caxias do Sul was defeated by Corinthians in Sao Paulo 103-98. Mogi beat Pato at home 90-76. U.Corinthians was destroyed by Pinheiros on the opponent's court 86-55. Bauru managed to outperform Vasco da Gama in a home game 75-69. Brasilia recorded a loss to Paulistano on the road 81-69.



Paulistano - Minas 66-76

Leader Minas delivered the twenty ninth victory on Monday night. This time they beat 12th ranked Paulistano (15-19) 76-66 in Sao Paulo. Forward Winicius Braga (204-2005) stepped up and scored 16 points and 9 rebounds for the winners and American Jeremy Hollowell (203-1994, college: Georgia St., agency: BIG) chipped in 14 points and 6 rebounds. Forward Brunao Cardoso (197-2002) responded with a double-double by scoring 14 points and 15 rebounds and international guard Kevin Crescenzi (192-1993, college: Dartmouth) scored 13 points and 5 assists. Paulistano's coach Demetrius Ferraciu tested ten players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Minas maintains first place with 29-5 record. Loser Paulistano keeps the twelfth position with 19 games lost.
Top scorers:
Minas: W.Braga 16+9reb+2ast, J.Hollowell 14+6reb+2ast, S.Machado 13+3reb+4ast, J.Arengo 9+3reb+2ast, F.Baralle 8+1reb+4ast, A.Paranhos 6
Paulistano: B.Cardoso 14+15reb, K.Crescenzi 13+4reb+5ast, G.Landeira 8+2reb+1ast, V.Silva Brandao 7+1reb+2ast, L.Vieira 7+1reb, L.Inacio 6+3reb+1ast

Sesi/Franca - Flamengo 97-91

An exciting game between Top Four teams was played in Sao Paulo. Third ranked Vivo/Franca faced second-ranked Flamengo. Host Vivo/Franca (25-9) defeated guests from Rio de Janeiro (26-8) 97-91. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of Flamengo. Sesi/Franca made 16-of-19 free shots (84.2 percent) during the game. The best player for the winners was the former international point guard Georginho de Paula (197-1996) who scored 17 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. The former international guard Didi Louzada (195-1999) chipped in 21 points. The former international point guard Alexey Borges (185-1995) produced a double-double by scoring 12 points and 13 assists and the former international power forward Ruan Miranda (207-2001) added 20 points (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) respectively for the guests. Five Sesi/Franca and four Flamengo players scored in double figures. Flamengo's coach Sergio Hernandez rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Vivo/Franca have an impressive series of fourteen victories in a row. Sesi/Franca maintains third place with 25-9 record having four points less than leader Minas. Flamengo at the other side keeps the second position with eight games lost.
Top scorers:
Sesi/Franca: D.Louzada 21+1reb+2ast, D.Jackson 17+5reb+1ast, G.de Paula 17+6reb+8ast, C.Hinkle 11+2reb+1ast, L.Dias 10+4reb+4ast, N.Fernandes 8+5reb
Flamengo: R.Miranda 20+4reb, G.Pereira 19+3reb, A.Borges 12+4reb+13ast, K.Goncalves 10+4reb+2ast, L.Siewert 7+2reb, T.Gallizzi 5+4reb

Corinthians - Caxias do Sul 103-98

There was no surprise in Sao Paulo where 15th ranked Caxias do Sul (11-22) was defeated by eleventh ranked Corinthians (16-17) 103-98 on Wednesday. However just five-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. Corinthians looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. American guard Melvin Johnson (193-1993, college: VCU) stepped up and scored 27 points for the winners and the former international forward Rafael Munford (195-1998, college: Augusta) chipped in 13 points and 11 rebounds. Vinicius Chagas (204-2001) responded with a double-double by scoring 34 points (!!!) and 13 rebounds (on 14-of-18 shooting from the field) and guard Isaac Goncalves (196-1990) scored 26 points and 5 rebounds. Four Corinthians and five Caxias do Sul players scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Corinthians moved-up to tenth place. Loser Caxias do Sul keeps the fifteenth position with 22 games lost. Corinthians will meet at home higher ranked U.Corinthians (#7) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Caxias do Sul will play against Pinheiros (#6) in Sao Paulo and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Corinthians: M.Johnson 27+3ast, E.Clark 14+2reb, R.Munford 13+11reb+2ast, L.Caue 13+10reb+1ast, K.Raymundo 10+5reb, E.Corazza 9+4reb+12ast
Caxias do Sul: V.Chagas 34+13reb+1ast, I.Goncalves 26+5reb+2ast, F.Ruiz 13+3reb+2ast, L.Cravero 12+8reb+1ast, B.Nardi 11+5reb+13ast, S.Stallworth 2+5reb+2ast

Mogi - Pato 90-76

There was a small surprise in Mogi das Cruzes where sixteenth ranked Mogi (11-23) defeated 13th ranked Pato (12-21) 90-76 on Wednesday. Mogi dominated down low during the game scoring 44 of its points in the paint compared to Pato's 24. They outrebounded Pato 29-17 including 22 on the defensive glass. Mogi looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Guard Raffael Mencarini (187-2001) stepped up and scored 32 points and 6 rebounds (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line) for the winners and Jamison Costa (198-2000) chipped in 18 points. American swingman Austin Wrighten (192-1996, college: Lynchburg) responded with 12 points and 5 assists and Venezuelan swingman Jose Materan (198-1996) scored 14 points. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Mogi maintains sixteenth place with 11-23 record. Pato lost their third game in a row. They keep the thirteenth position with 21 games lost. They share it with Sao Paulo. Mogi will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Pato will play against Sao Jose (#9) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Mogi: R.Mencarini 32+6reb+2ast, J.Costa 18+4reb, I.Mendes 10+3reb, G.Caldeira 9+1reb+9ast, E.Elevi 7+7reb+1ast, L.Santos 6+3reb+1ast
Pato: J.Materan 14+1reb+2ast, M.De Souza 13+1reb, A.Wrighten 12+2reb+5ast, G.Novaes 11+3reb+2ast, R.Oliveira 8+2reb, C.Freitas 7+2reb+5ast

Pinheiros - U.Corinthians 86-55

There was a minor upset in Sao Paulo where 6th ranked U.Corinthians (18-15) was rolled over by eighth ranked Pinheiros (18-15) 86-55 on Wednesday. Pinheiros made 19-of-23 free shots (82.6 percent) during the game. Pinheiros outrebounded U.Corinthians 43-28 including a 31-19 advantage in defensive rebounds. The former international guard Reynan Dos Santos (192-2004) stepped up and scored 19 points and 8 rebounds for the winners and the former international Jimmy Oliveira (190-1990) chipped in 17 points and 5 rebounds. Fabricio Verissimo (192-1998) responded with 17 points and 5 rebounds and point guard Vithinho Lersch (186-1995) scored 8 points and 4 assists. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Pinheiros moved-up to sixth place, which they share with defeated U.Corinthians. Pinheiros will meet at home Caxias do Sul (#15) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. U.Corinthians will play against Corinthians (#10) in Sao Paulo and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Pinheiros: R.Dos Santos 19+8reb+3ast, J.Oliveira 17+5reb+1ast, D.Sloan 13+2reb+6ast, C.De Souza 9+2ast, P.Pastre 9+1reb+2ast, B.Da Silva 7+12reb
U.Corinthians: F.Verissimo 17+5reb, V.Lersch 8+3reb+4ast, F.Russo 6+1reb, R.Lanaras 6+1reb+2ast, J.Dos Anjos 4+4reb, D.Johnson 4+2reb+2ast

Bauru - Vasco da Gama 75-69

Rather predictable result when fifth ranked Paschoalotto/Bauru (19-14) beat at home 8th ranked Vasco da Gama (18-16) 75-69 on Thursday. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Bauru made 8 blocks. The former international guard Alex Garcia (191-1980, agency: Interperformances) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 15 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners and American point guard Dontrell Brite (175-1994, college: Mount Olive) chipped in 23 points and 4 assists. Paschoalotto/Bauru's coach used a ten-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. Point guard Alexsander Vernizz (184-2000) responded with 15 points and 6 assists and Eddy Carvalho (196-1987) scored 18 points and 5 rebounds. Four Vasco da Gama players scored in double figures. Bauru moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Brasilia. Vasco da Gama lost their third game in a row. Newly promoted team keeps the eighth position with 16 games lost. Bauru will meet at home bottom-ranked Botafogo (#18) in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Vasco da Gama will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Bauru: D.Brite 23+2reb+4ast, A.Barbosa de Abreu 17+10reb+1ast, A.Garcia 15+10reb+5ast, D.Rossetto 7+3reb+2ast, M.Alves 6+3reb+1ast, G.Santana 4+3reb+3ast
Vasco da Gama: E.Carvalho 18+5reb, A.Vernizz 15+4reb+6ast, P.Scheuer 11+7reb+3ast, R.Paulichi 10+5reb+1ast, H.Silva 6+5reb+2ast, M.Eugeniusz 5+7reb

Cearense - UniFacisa 81-73

Bottom-ranked Fortaleza managed to get a tenth victory. This time they won against eleventh-ranked UNIFACISA 81-73. Cearense players were unselfish on offense dishing 21 assists. American power forward Eden Ewing (204-1997, college: Texas Southern) orchestrated the victory by scoring 25 points and 7 rebounds. Forward Enzo Oliveira (196-2002) contributed with 14 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. American swingman Christian Alaekwe (193-1998, college: St.Thomas, TX) answered with 16 points and 7 rebounds and the former international Antonio Ferreira (200-1994) added 16 points in the effort for UniFacisa. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Cearense (10-24) moved-up to seventeenth place. UniFacisa at the other side keeps the eleventh position with 18 games lost.
Top scorers:
Cearense: E.Ewing 25+7reb+2ast, E.Oliveira 14+6reb+3ast, D.McClanahan 12+4reb+5ast, S.Orresta 9+3reb+5ast, A.Barbosa 9+11reb+2ast, G.Fernandes 5+1ast
UniFacisa: C.Alaekwe 16+7reb+1ast, A.Ferreira 16+4reb+2ast, M.Solanas 12+1reb+3ast, T.Gaskins 8+3reb+7ast, R.Rachel 5+9reb+1ast, G.Hubner 5

Paulistano - Brasilia 81-69

There was an upset in Sao Paulo where 4th placed Brasilia (19-14) was defeated by twelfth ranked Paulistano (15-19) 81-69 on Thursday. Paulistano maintains twelfth place with 15-19 record. Brasilia lost their fourth game in a row. They keep the fourth position with 14 games lost. They share it with Bauru. Paulistano will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Brasilia will play against Sao Paulo (#13) and hope to secure a win.