The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

TRAVIS Munnings and his UD Oliveirense club evened their Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol (LPB) quarterfinals series in thrilling fashion.

Munnings finished with eight points, a game high 16 rebounds and five assists in his club’s 89-88 win over SL Benfica on Saturday in Lisbon, Portugal.

Tied 86-86 with just under six seconds left to play in regulation, Benfica’s Cameron Jackson made the go-ahead layup in traffic. Munnings quickly took the inbound, raced upcourt and dished an assist to Joao Balseiro who made a deep three pointer from the wing for the game winner as time expired.

The best-of-seven series is even at 1-1 after Benfica took the opener 95-86. Munnings finished with eight points, six rebounds and three assists. Game three is set for April 29, game four is scheduled for May 1 and game five is on May 5. Oliveirense also held a 2-1 edge in three meetings between the clubs this season.

UD Oliveirense entered the playoffs as the No.5 seed as they look to claim a third consecutive title.

Munnings joined the club as an international signee after last season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He played the previous season with La Rochelle Stade Rochelais of France’s NM1 League. He averaged 17.5 points, eight rebounds and 3.8 assists per game through six games.

Munnings concluded the regular season with averages of 12.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. His team finished the season at 19-7.

Oliveirense ended the regular season with wins in eight of their last 10 games, including an 87-76 win over Sporting CP in the finale.

Munnings looks to continue his standout individual play on the international level after his play in the FIBA 2022 AmeriCup qualification process.

He averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists through six games.

Munnings had a near triple double with 14 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, in a loss to PR and also had 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals in a loss to The United States as The Bahamas’ qualification bid came to an end.