Leader of the New Basketball Brazil (NBB), José Neto's team easily defeated Palmeiras on Thursday night and took an important step toward the Playoffs. With the results of the round, two more wins are enough to secure first place in the tournament early. The victory was a gift for the fans who packed the Tijuca Tennis Club and witnessed another victory in the competition.

"Our obligation is to go out on the court and give our best. Fortunately, we came out victorious today and got closer to our first goal, which is to finish the qualifying phase in first place and secure home court in the playoffs," said forward Marquinhos, once again the red-and-black's top scorer with 23 points. Other standouts were Caio Torres, with nine rebounds, and point guard Kojo, who finished the game with five assists.

"I can say that past mistakes have helped our team improve as a team. That's what happened to us. Fortunately, we used our mistakes to improve in daily training and we are reaping the rewards of this team effort," explained coach José Neto. Flamengo will now travel to São Paulo to face Pinheiros next Monday (01.04).

Points per Room:
Flamengo (81) x (61) Palmeiras
1rd - 22 x 12
2rd - 24 x 11
3rd - 13 x 22
4rd - 22 x 16