With a century-old score, Flamengo defeats Brasília in the NBB
Pride of the Nation returns to the court this Sunday against Cerrado Basquete
By Helena Petry - inFlaBasquete confirmed the victory over Brasília this Friday (18) for the NBB! Dominant from the second quarter, Mengão overcame the opponent by 103 to 74, at the ASCEB gym (DF), in the 11th round of the competition. Olivinha was the top scorer of the match with 19 points, followed by Hettsheimeir, with 17.
The game
Hettsheimeir opened the scoring for Flamengo with two points. Brasília, with the better offense, took an early lead, but Hett, with two free throws, and Chuzito, from outside the paint, brought Flamengo closer (7-8). Flamengo converted again, and a dunk by Leo Demetrio closed the gap to one point once more (9-10). Shortly after, a three-pointer by Chuzito González leveled the score in the ASCEB gymnasium, and the two teams tied at 12. The Argentine shined from outside the paint, scoring two more, helping Flamengo close the gap again and close the period with a 22-24 lead.
The Giant Hett and Chuzito González, who hit his fifth three-pointer and maintained a 100% success rate, kept Brasília from pulling away at the start of the second quarter (28-29). Two points and a foul, a made free throw, and two more from Hettsheimeir in a row put Mengão ahead for the first time in the match, 33-31. Gustavinho abused the rotation, and Flamengo took off. Rafael Mineiro added two more, and Hett, again with a three, increased the lead even further (38-31), while the team took advantage of their opponent's mistakes and got rebounds. Olivinha and Franco Balbi stepped up and scored two and three points respectively, repeating the feat soon after. Brasília scored only once, and Flamengo went into halftime with a strong comeback (50-33).
Mengão came out of the locker room in a frenzy and quickly took an 11-0 lead in the third period, thanks to two offensive rebounds from Olivinha, a dunk from Jhonatan Luz, and that beautiful, signature pass from Franco "El Mago" Balbi. The team from the capital scored again, but Leo Demetrio and Pedro Nunes also scored for the Rio de Janeiro side (69-41). Jhonatan's three-pointer put the score at 75 for the Mais Querido, compared to Brasília's 50 at the end of the period.
Rafael Rachel's alley-oop with Balbi opened the fourth quarter for Flamengo in spectacular fashion, scoring again shortly after. Yago made a tackle, broke free on his own, and set up a layup, making it 83-58. Olivinha received the ball in the paint and scored, then converted two more three-pointers (97-74). Balbi's three-pointer secured Mengão's 103th consecutive NBB victory. And it didn't stop there! Before the final whistle, the Magician converted another from distance, closing the score at 74-XNUMX.
The Argentine was one of the game's standout performers, with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 11 assists. Immediately after the match, he analyzed the team's performance and discussed the lessons the team should learn from the match.
"A win is always important, but we have to take away from today the lesson that if we continue starting the game the way we did, we'll probably lose more than we win. We need to focus more, play harder from the start. We made a lot of mistakes at the beginning that we hadn't practiced, so I think the main thing is to start the game stronger to avoid what happened today. You run more, you wear yourself out much more during the game. We have to put all that energy in right from the start to play a more relaxed match. It won't always be like this, but if you start focused from the beginning, things can turn out a little better," said the point guard.
Highlights
Olivinha - 19 points and 9 rebounds
Hettsheimeir - 17 points and 4 rebounds
Chuzito - 15 points
Balbi - 12 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists
And now?
Flamengo returns to the court on Sunday (20), at 19 pm, against Cerrado Basquete. The match will be broadcast live on Dazn.
Starting Quintet
Chuzito, Balbi, Olivinha, Rafael Mineiro and Hettsheimeir
The basketball teams of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo rely on resources from their sponsors – BRB, 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).