Franca praises defence in the third best performance of the sector this season

== sync, corrected by elderman == @elder_man

A series with history: Franca and basketball as an identity

The semifinal of the Campeonato Paulista puts two traditional São Paulo basketball teams facing each other. On Sesi Franca's side, there is also an institutional mark: the city has a record of Capital do Basquete and was recognized by federal law as National Capital of Basketball.

Tuesday: Pedrocão becomes a defensive fortress

On the last Tuesday, Sesi Franca beat Paulistano by 80-59 at Pedrocão Gymnasium. The final score was mainly sustained by the collective performance in defense.

For comparison, Franca's best defensive references in the Paulista Championship had appeared even in the first phase, in the triumphs over Bauru by 61 to 51 and over Osasco by 101 to 52.

The locker room speech: intensity from start to finish

For Reynan, the decisive factor was not only in the attack but in the physical delivery and concentration of the squad from the first to the last minute.

Helinho Garcia also valued the control of the game. For the coach, victory brought something beyond the result: maintaining intensity and determination even when the scoreboard was already built, whether with equal play, with an advantage of 6 or 8 points, or with a difference of 20 points.

Experience and foundation: a step towards the end

The coach of Sesi Franca highlighted the integration between experienced athletes and young people trained at the base.In Helinho's analysis, players from the professional team supported the boys, who took protagonism and also delivered an important defensive work.This move was seen as the first big step to seek a place in the final of the Campeonato Paulista.

Game two, Sunday at 2 p.m., the Hugo Ramos

With the result in the first match, the French team opened 1-0 in a best-of-three playoff. Game 2 of the semifinals is scheduled for this Sunday at 2:00 pm at the Hugo Ramos gymnasium in Mogi das Cruzes (SP).

How's the show now?

Sesi Franca enters the second game with an advantage and can close the semi-final with a new victory. Paulistano needs to win in order to take the series to a possible Game 3.