In a very tight game on Friday night in Argentina, Flamengo was defeated by Pinheiros, 88-85, in their opening match of the second phase of the Liga das Américas (LDA), in Group D. José Neto's team fell well behind after a first quarter of just 11 points. The team was trailing by more than 15 points at one point, but evened things up in the second half. This Saturday, Flamengo returns to the court in Argentina at 20:05 pm. Their opponent will be Ecuador's Mavort.

Six minutes into the final quarter, the Red-Blacks came from behind to lead, but then surrendered their lead again. In the final seconds, the team had a chance to equalize with point guard Marquinhos, who ended up missing a free throw that would have tied the game.

"Basketball is like that: decided by details. Unfortunately, the ball hit the rim and went out. But we're still in the competition. We need to win tomorrow to reach our last opponent, depending only on ourselves to qualify," analyzed Marquinhos. The top two in the group qualify for the Final Four, on March 29th and 31st.

 Points per Room:

 Flamengo (85) x (88) Pinheiros       
 1rd - 11 x 25
 2rd - 20 x 16
 3rd - 29 x 27
 4rd - 25 x 20