Williams carries Portuguese team to Champions League win
Travante Williams
Anchorage’s Travante Williams carried Portuguese power Sporting Lisbon to a wire-to-wire win in an elimination game during qualifying for the Basketball Champions League.
Williams pumped in 14 of his 23 points in the first quarter to propel his team to an 84-78 victory over Fribourg Olympic of Switzerland in the knockout stage.
With the win, Sporting Lisbon advanced to the Group C final and will face Igokea of the Bosnian League later this week, with the winner advancing to the 32-team Champions League competition.
Credit Williams for making it happen.
The 6-foot-6 forward was especially strong at the beginning of the game as Sporting Lisbon built a 27-18 lead after the first quarter.
When Fribourg Olympic pulled with 66-63 early in the fourth quarter, Williams again came up clutch by sparking a 17-6 run that bumped the lead back to 14.
He had a hand in nine of the 17 points, drew three fouls and grabbed three rebounds.
Williams, of Mt. Edgecumbe High fame, finished 7-of-15 from the field and 6-for-6 from the line. He added seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.
He also had a game-high 27 efficiency rating.
This was his first game since March when COVID shut down the basketball season.