Benfica defeated the Bakken Bears 94-79 on Wednesday at Pavilhão Fidelidade in the sixth round of the FIBA Europe Cup group stage.
The result leaves the Lisbon club alone at the top of Group G with 11 points, while the Danish side sits second with 10 points, as CNN Portugal reported.
The match took place behind closed doors due to adverse weather conditions caused by Storm Charles, following a government alert across Portugal, A Bola reported. The home side led at every quarter break, securing partial scores of 26-20, 50-42, and 74-66 before closing out the 15-point victory.
Luke Barrett led all scorers with 25 points, including five three-pointers from seven attempts. Luther Muhammad added 17 points and Brandon Slater scored 16 for the hosts, CNN Portugal noted. For the visitors, Djahi Binet recorded 23 points and 10 rebounds.
🔥 Huge W!#BasketBenfica | #FIBAEuropeCup pic.twitter.com/SINjpx3wel
“Na minha perspetiva, o mais importante no nosso trabalho é ganhar,” said DECLARAÇÕES Ainars Bagatskis, Treinador.
“Na primeira parte, eles marcaram muitos pontos na área pintada e os principais objetivos na segunda parte eram travar as transições, corrigir as perdas de bola e continuar a jogar o nosso basquetebol,” said Muhammad.
With this sixth-round win, Benfica holds 11 points at the summit of Group G. The team previously defeated the same opponent 91-81 in Denmark on October 7, according to A Bola.
Benfica returns to domestic competition on Saturday, November 14, at 16:00, hosting CAB Madeira at Pavilhão Fidelidade for the seventh round of the Liga Betclic first phase. In European competition, the team travels to face Denizli Basket on Tuesday, CNN Portugal reported.
Luke Barrett led the Eagles with 25 points, shooting five out of seven from beyond the arc, according to CNN Portugal.
Benfica plays away against Denizli Basket on Tuesday in the FIBA Europe Cup, CNN Portugal reported.
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