By Melody Gross 
Max Landis says he heard the insults in the derby against Benfica, but didn’t want to dwell on it.
On social media, American basketball player Max Landis said he was insulted during Sunday’s derby match with Benfica, in the Reds’ stronghold.
He wrote, “Maybe I should take to social media to talk about the insults I heard tonight. But forget it, my mum didn’t raise me like this. The season is long, keep supporting us. Now the focus is on Europe.” on Twitter.
Benfica defeated Porto with a score of 97-93 and advanced to the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Men’s Basketball Cup, in a match that was discussed until the last seconds, as the red team became stronger.
Playing at home, the Reds started the match better, although the first two points belonged to FC Porto, to which Benfica responded 9-0 in part.
The Dragons woke up and with almost seven minutes left to play they were reduced to one point (11-10), and Benfica managed to slip away a little again with two consecutive hat-tricks by Tony Douglas and one by Betinho Gomez (20-12).
Max Landis, the best of the Dragons, finished tied for 20 points, converting two free throws, but Benfica ended up finishing the period on top (28-22).
At the beginning of the second half, FC Porto immediately equalized thanks to three tackles from Clough and Voitsou. With Benfica stunned at first, Miguel María Cardoso recovered the ball and with a new long throw put the “blue and white” ahead (28-31).
After nearly five minutes without scoring, Betino Gomez opened the scoreboard for the Reds “, also from the three-point line (31-36), a shot that awakened his teammates and Ramadan, with a hot hand, and got six points in two plays and the advantage of Luz Club (37 -36).
In a match with constant score changes, Porto’s side ended up getting stronger until the end of the first half, which came with the “dragons” having the advantage by 45-50.
The break was positive for Benfica, who more resolutely managed to make a 13-2 (58-52) victory, capped off by a “slam dunk” from Betinho.
Under the leadership of Max Landis, FC Porto recovered and reached the end of the third period again in front (68-71), keeping the balance until the last four minutes.
A defensive change by Benfica turned out to be crucial, with the Dragons making several mistakes in building and allowing Benfica to pull away.
In the final moments, a hat-trick by Max Landis and another hat-trick by Francisco Amarante still gave hope to FC Porto, but Tony Douglas, who was called to the free-throw line, was not shaken and preserved the advantage of the Reds.
Max Landis was the top scorer of the match with 30 points, while Bossard led the Benfica side with 24 points.