Win or win. There's no other choice. Trailing in the NBB Playoffs semifinal series, Flabasquete will have the chance to tie their match against Mogi this Friday. The orange ball will go up at 20 pm at Arena Carioca 1 for the second game of the best-of-five tournament. The third game will be on Monday at the same location and time. Both matches will be broadcast on Sportv. 

There at their house

The first matchup wasn't a good one. With poor shooting from both inside and outside the paint, Flamengo "let" Mogi play and took a 79-62 lead in the end. The numbers weren't the best, contrary to the season's standard. Marquinhos finished as the top scorer with 14 points, but his overall shooting percentage was around 38%, well below the 43.3% average he's seen so far. 

Now it's our turn

Nothing is decided, but the defeat has added pressure to the Red-Black team, which cannot afford to make any mistakes in front of the Nation. Playing at Arena Carioca against Mogi in the first round, Flamengo won 77-71, with a show from JP Batista, Ramon, and Marquinhos, who combined for 63 points.

And knowing that home advantage is crucial, Anderson Varejão is counting on the fans for the match. After all, that's what earned the advantage in the first round. 

"We're not competing to finish first so we can win the opening game of the series. We're competing to close out the series at home, in our own stadium. If we win them all here, we'll advance. That's what we're working towards, and tomorrow we'll have to work with the Nation, who will pack the Arena, to tie the series against Mogi," said the number 17. More than two thousand tickets have already been sold, and a full house is expected this Friday.  

Flamengo

Coach José Neto will have all of the players from the red-and-black squad available. Check out the players listed. 

Shipowners: Arthur Pecos and David Cubillan.

Shooting guards: Ronald Ramon and Wesley Mogi.

Wings: Marcelinho and Marquinhos.

Power forwards: Olivinha, MJ Rhett and Pilar.

Pivots: JP Batista, João Vitor and Anderson Varejão.

In that other semifinal.....

The Flamengo-Mogi series is nothing new in the semifinals. In the 2015/2016 season, the teams also met and brought Brazil to a standstill. The first game was away, just like this one in 2018, and also ended in an 86-81 victory for Mogi. In the return match, in Rio, Mengão won 81-71 and tied, but in the third, the São Paulo team won again. 

The fourth game was epic. Flamengo needed the win at all costs. With 10 seconds remaining, the score was 93-91 in favor of the Mais Querido, when Larry Taylor got the ball and began setting up Mogi's attack. The American ran out of time, swayed sideways, and went after Marquinhos. Had he scored, the game would have been tied, and we would have gone into overtime. There was also a chance he would have been fouled and sealed the win with a free throw. But Marquinhos did just that. 

He closed the door, victory guaranteed, and in the fifth game, Mengão won 79 to 75, moving on to the final, where they would win the cup for the fifth time. 

Tickets

Tickets for the match are on sale on the website GuicheWeb and can also be purchased at the Arena Carioca ticket office, which will open two hours before the game.

Social media coverage

You can also follow the duel in real time on the official social networks of Team Flamengo, using the hashtag #FlaBasquete. Follow on Twitter and Instagram  and like our page on Facebook. Fla TV also brings exclusive images to the Red-Black Nation. Sign up with one click, it's free!

The basketball teams of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo receive funding from their sponsors – thinkseg, Estácio, AmBev, Rede D'or, IRB Brasil RE, CSN, Brasil Plural, and EY – via the Federal Incentive Law/Ministry of Sports (IR) and the State Incentive Law/Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat of Sports, Recreation, and Youth (Seelje), in addition to support from the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC) resulting from the decentralization of resources from the Pelé Law. The Anjo da Guarda Rubro-Negro Project, a personal tax transfer, benefits all Olympic sports of the Most Beloved.