Far from Gávea, but with the unconditional support of the Nação Rubro-Negra, Flamengo defeated Vasco at the Tijuca Tênis Clube gymnasium by 93 to 69, in a classic played this Saturday afternoon and achieved the third victory in the State Championship. Highlight of the match, with a double-double, point guard Franco Balbi scored 16 points and 10 assists. Varejão was the top scorer of the game, with 17 points. Deryk Ramos with 14 and Marquinhos with 13 were also decisive for the victory of the Mais Querido. FlaBasquete returns to the court against Botafogo, this Tuesday (28), at 20 pm, at Tijuca Tênis Clube.

The game:

Despite the noise the fans made cheering on the Red-Blacks, Vasco da Gama started the match better. Until the opening five minutes, Vasco da Gama had the more successful attacking pushes. Their opponents even opened up a five-point lead. Flamengo was overusing 3-point attempts, while Vasco da Gama was better in the paint. The game was tied at 9-9 when Varejão made a good drive, scoring two points and turning the score around to 11-9. The game was back-and-forth, with both teams capitalizing on counterattacks, but Vasco regained the lead. As the clock expired, Derik Ramos sped off and scored a layup to close the first quarter 20-17 for Vasco da Gama. From then on, Flamengo led until the end. Gustavo de Conti promoted the debut of David Nesbitt and with 3 minutes left in the second quarter, Franco Balbi took advantage of two steals to score and put Fla in a 12-point lead: 40 to 28. Deryk Ramos and Varejão added 19 points and helped Fla close the first half winning by 48 to 33.

After halftime, Flamengo didn't slow down, and Vasco couldn't even get close. The third quarter was a showpiece for Franco Balbi, with the Flamengo number 6 becoming the team's second-highest scorer with 14 points and leading in assists with 8. Driven by Balbi, Flamengo closed the period leading 74-53. The final period continued in the same vein. With the game's dominance, Gustavinho took advantage to bring in Matheusinho and João Vitor, and Flabasquete racked up points until they closed the match 93-69.

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.