FC Porto conquers Benfica for LPB glory

The two largest sporting institutions in Portugal contested the LPB title this year and FC Porto emerged the champion with a 93-85 win over Benfica in Game 4 of the finals series. In conquering the title FC Porto is a worthy champion that has defeated its nearest rival 3-1 in the finals run.

It has only been seven years (2009) since the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol was started, replacing the LGB, but it has been dominated by Lisbon-based Benfica. The club has tasted title glory in all by one season heading to this campaign, and was looking for a fifth consecutive crown.

However, FC Porto is the only club to have snapped Benfica’s dominance in the LPB era and the club achieved the milestone again to collect 12th title. That is still some way behind Benfica’s dominant 26 league crowns, but enough to put Porto atop Portuguese Basketball.

In Game 4 Porto relied heavily on its bench to come onto the floor and make the difference, contributing 34 points to the overall winning haul. The hosts also boasted a more organized offence, handing out 18 points, double the amount achieved by Benfica.

It was a close first quarter that included plenty of action at the buckets, with Benfica taking an early lead with a 22-25 advantage through 10 minutes. The visitors needed the win to stay alive, but Porto soon took control in the second quarter, using a confidence boosting 23-14 run to make it 45-39 through the long break. The hosts kept the momentum in a narrowly fought third act, securing a two point margin (21-19) to make it 66-58 through thirty minutes of play. Benfica threw caution to the win and drained 27 points in the fourth quarter, but Porto kept pace and plundered 27 of its own points to secure the title.

Troy DeVries led the win with 23 points, while Nick Washburn added 17 points and 9 rebounds. Miguel Queiroz scored 11 points and Alberto Fontent and Ferran Ventura produced 10 points apiece.

Daequan Cook led a triumvate of Benfica players topping 20 points with a game high 24, followed by Jeremiah Wilson with 22 points and Ivica Radic with 20 points. The problem for the guests was that the bench players did not back up the consistency on the court.