01 September, 2016
30 April, 2017
32 Melvin Johnson (ITA)
29/09/2016
Game Report
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Varese narrow escape sees them through to Group C

VARESE (Basketball Champions League) – A nail-biting finale saw Pallacanestro Varese fall 72-70 to SL Benfica at home on Thursday night but advance to Basketball Champions League Group C on just a single-point aggregate win, by virtue of their 75-72 victory in the first leg of the Qualification Round 2 tie, in Lisbon.

After Melvin Johnson tied the scores at 70-all from the foul line Benfica called a time-out and had nine seconds to try and hit a three-pointer that would force over-time. The Portuguese side twice fluffed their lines while trying to in-bound the ball and lost valuable time, but maintained possession. On the third try, Derek Raivio finally received the ball at the top of the key with just two seconds remaining but stepped inside of the arc and sunk a long two-point shot which gave his team a pyrrhic win.

Varese had grabbed an early 8-point lead but that quickly evaporated and, just like the reverse fixture in Lisbon, the game turned into a very tight affair, featuring 11 lead changes and 10 ties.

Damian Hollis put Benfica up 70-65 with 3:13 remaining to play but the Portuguese side misfired on all their shots until that Raivio buzzer-beater, while Varese tried to go to charity stripe and made the most of it, scoring 5-of-6 free-throws in that final stretch.

Christian Eyenga made sure Varese did not lose the battle in the paint this time around, like it had happened in the first leg, and finished with a team-high 15 points and seven boards. Johnson added 12 points while Hollis had a game-high 21 points in defeat for Benfica, whose European campaign will continue in the FIBA Europe Cup.