RIO DE JANEIRO (Campeonato Nacional) - Rio Claro, Ribeiro Preto and Franca continue to fight it out for a place in the final of the Campeonato Nacional after securing victories in their respective semi-final play-off games on Saturday.
The most tightly-contested game, Preto's 105-99 overtime victory over Universo, was won thanks to the efforts of Durelle Brown, who tallied 32 points and eight rebounds.
Universo's Marcio Cipriano scored 26 points and hauled down 14 rebounds in a losing cause.
Preto's Nezinho dos Santos said afterwards: "We played well during the whole game, but we have to play better in the next game (against Franca) to qualify to the final round."
Elsewhere, Edu Mineiro's 17 points and three rebounds helped Franca to a 92-89 win over Telemar, despite top-scorer Arnaldinho's best efforts (22 points) for the losers.
And finally Rio Claro beat Torres 76-72 to keep the latter team bottom of the standings in the six-team competition.
Eldridge Courtney lead all scorers with 20 points and four rebounds for Rio, while Torres' main man was Marcio, who grabbed 13 points.
With one game left to play, Rio, Ribeiro Preto and Franca all have 3-1 records.
The winner of the next game between Preto and Franca will automatically qualify as one of the top-two sides to move forward to contest the grand final.
PA Sport