The face of the franchise scored 11 of his 17 points in the final 15 minutes
Hugo Benitez shined when Bourg needed him most
Article
3 Mins read
Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse was on the brink of reversing a nightmare first half with some tough defense but was still lacking the offensive punch. Enter Hugo Benitez, the face of the franchise who turned the game around with a masterful final 15 minutes.
Benitez finished the game with a team-high 17 points to go with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in Bourg’s 93-82 comeback win over Veolia Towers Hamburg. The French team gave up 58 points in the first half and needed to rally back from 14 points down to grab its first BKT EuroCup win since November 6 for a 6-4 record after having lost four of its last five games.
“I want us to remember the second half. The first half was not high-level basketball. And it’s not acceptable. We did a good job in the second half,” said Bourg head coach Frederic Fauthoux.
Bourg still trailed 58-66 midway through the third quarter when Benitez began to take over. He scored three baskets in a 13-0 run to claim the lead 71-66. And Benitez added another score to give Bourg its first double-digit lead 80-70 with 6 minutes left in the game.
Hamburg answered with the next 4 points but Benitez punched back with a three-pointer and then stole the ball before assisting on a Jordan Usher layup to make it 85-74.
Hamburg was never able to get closer than 9 points the rest of the way
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“It’s all about the team. We showed a lot of character,” Benitez said. “We had a talk at halftime and showed our real team in the second half. The first half was terrible for us. They played really well. But afterwards, it was our rhythm. That is our team.”
The performance was Benitez’s best of the season - topping the 11 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists he had in the Round 9 loss to Valencia Basket.
The 23-year-old is really starting to shine more with the 2024 EuroCup runner-up.