It's time for the debut! This Tuesday, FlaBasquete begins its quest for its second Champions League Americas title in Uruguay. The Rubro-Negro's first match in the qualifying round will be against Instituto Córdoba in Montevideo at 21:30 pm. The following day, the opponent will be Peñarol, the home team, at the same time. ESPN will broadcast the games live.

The three teams make up Group C of the competition and will face each other three times. After Uruguay, Flamengo will host the matches in Rio in January, while the final window will be played in February in Argentina. 

The Most Beloved arrived in Montevideo this Sunday (10) and has already carried out two training sessions at the Peñarol gym. After the activities, Gustavo De Conti analyzed the opponents.

"Instituto is very strong, with international players and a strong offensive 3-point shooter. They're quite versatile on defense, with tall players, centers capable of defending smaller players, and smaller players capable of defending larger players. They're a tough team to beat," the coach added.

"Peñarol is a team that, offensively, plays more with a few players, especially David Huertas, the Americans Charles Thomas and Lee Roberts, and the German Robin Benzing, who has only played one game so far but will be available in the Champions League. They're also a very strong team."

De Conti also spoke about the level of competition.

"This is a Champions League with much more investment than in previous seasons, and we're in a very strong group. But we'll do everything we can to come away with victories here in Uruguay."

One of the Flamengo coach's weapons for the BCLA competition is Argentine Loku Cuello. The shooting guard has been excelling in the NBB in his first season wearing the Manto. In 21/22, he played for Instituto Córdoba, the team with which he won the Argentine League and was also named MVP of the competition. The star player outlined the path FlaBasquete must follow to emerge victorious in its debut.

"Instituto is an intense team, playing from defense to counterattack. We're working on and studying the team. It's going to be a good game. We have to focus on intensity and have a good rotation to keep the energy high throughout the match. I think these are key points," analyzed the player.

Flamengo won the second edition of the Champions League Americas in 2021, having reached the final in 2020. From the team that won the title, manager Gustavo De Conti, power forwards Olivinha and Rafael Mineiro, shooting guard Lucas Martinez, forward Rafael Rachel, and center Rafael Hettsheimeir, who returned to Flamengo in 2022, lifted the trophy in Nicaragua. The victory granted access to this year's Intercontinental Cup and allowed the Rubro-Negro to secure their second world championship in February in Egypt.

Related:

1 - Gui Deodato

3 - Matheus Leoni

7 - Penka Aguirre

9 - Gabriel Jaú 

11 - Jose Vildoza

12 - Miner

16 - Olive 

20 - Rachel 

25 - Lucas Martinez

30 - Hettsheimeir

31 - Faverani

44 - Neck

Streaming:

ESPN broadcasts Mengão's Champions League matches live