The World Cup final is just around the corner! FlaBasquete comfortably defeats Lakeland Magic and decides the title on Sunday.
In the fight for the second championship, Pride of the Nation awaits the winner of Zamalek vs Burgos, African and European champions, respectively
By Isabela Abirached - inThey won, convinced and secured their place in the final! On Friday afternoon (11), Flamengo faced the champion of the G League, the NBA's development league, Lakeland Magic, and with a great collective performance they won easily: 94 to 71. Superior throughout the match, Rubro-Negro played with application and class and gave no chances to the North Americans.
Yago Mateus led all scorers with 18 points, closely followed by Franco Balbi, who not only scored 17 points but also dished out nine assists. Lucas Martinez added 14 points, and Faverani and JP Batista each had 12, the latter also adding seven rebounds.
The game
Mengão opened the scoring with an immediate Yago three-pointer that led to Lakeland's three-pointer. The Monstrinho scored another from outside the perimeter soon after, keeping Mengão ahead. A solid defense reduced the opponent's space. The three-pointer—with Luke, Balbi, and Yago—and the aggressive offensive rebounding made the difference for the red-and-blacks' advantage. Meanwhile, the opponent's two-point shooting rate was quite low, at just 22%.
In the second quarter, with strong performances from Dar Tucker and JP Batista, the Pride of the Nation continued to dictate the pace of the match and further extended their lead, reaching 19 points. Coach Gustavo De Conti's team went into halftime leading the North American team 51-35.
In the third quarter, the Lakeland Magic staged a comeback and even held the lead for most of the half, but the Red-Blacks capitalized on their significant lead to maintain a comfortable lead. With intense focus and intensity, the team produced some beautiful plays, such as Balbi's three-pointer after a superb pass from Yago and the Argentine's alley-oop for Faverani's dunk, which was one of the highlights of the quarter.
Like the third period, which ended in a draw, the last ten minutes also started evenly, but there was no way out: Mengão just needed to manage the game to stay ahead in the partial and, with ease, secure the victory and the place in the long-awaited final.
In the fight for the second championship
World champion in 2014, FlaBasquete now continues its fight for the second title, next Sunday (13), at 15 pm. The match will be against the winner of the other semifinal, between Zamalek, from Egypt, and Burgos, from Spain, African and European champions, respectively. The duel will be broadcast by FlaTV, in audio, and by ESPN, with images.
The basketball teams of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo rely on resources from their sponsors – BRB, MOSS, TIM, AmBev, Rede D'or, IRB Brasil RE, CSN, Brasil Plural, EY – via the Federal Incentive Law/Ministry of Sports (IR) and State Incentive Law/State Secretariat of Sports, Leisure and Youth (Seelje) of Rio de Janeiro, in addition to support from the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC).