FC Porto play semi-final tonight for a Champions League spot | OneFootball

After the impressive victory on Saturday against the Hungarians of Falco Szombathely, by 79-83 in the quarter-finals – recovering from a 19-point deficit (61-42) with 15 minutes remaining – FC Porto faces an even more demanding challenge today (12:15 PM) in the semi-finals of the Qualification Tournament 3 for the FIBA Champions League.

At the SamElyon Arena in Samakov (Bulgaria), the Porto team will have to overcome the French team Élan Chalon to reach the final of the qualification phase on Wednesday – only the winner (there are three tournaments) secures the available spot in Group B of the Champions League, where Alba Berlin (Ger), Nymburk (Czech Republic), and Sabah (Azerbaijan) are already present.

Benfica, directly qualified – something unprecedented in national basketball – is part of Group H, along with Gran Canaria (Spain), Le Mans (France), and Spartak Subotica (Serbia).

To reach this semi-final, Élan Chalon – which in 2024/25 was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the LNB Pro A playoffs by Lyon-Villeurbanne (2-1) – convincingly defeated the Swiss team Fribourg Olympic by 80-107.

In the match, the American-Cameroonian guard Jeremiah Hill (18 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast) – who has played for Betis and Girona and helped Cameroon secure 4th place in the AfroBasket this summer – stood out, as well as Canadian Nate Darling (25) and Frenchman Yohan Choupas (17). The team from Chalon-sur-Saône has not participated in the Champions League since 2017/18.

Tournament 3 – quarter-finals, SaturdayFalco Szombathely (Hun) – FC Porto, 79-83Fribourg Olympic (Sui) – Élan Chalon (Fra), 80-107Murcia (Esp) – Star Lubin (Pol), 100-84Karhu Kauhajoki (Fin) – Juventus (Lit), 89-103

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.