Flamengo started their trip to São Paulo well. On Tuesday night, the Rubro-Negro defeated Liga Sorocabana 70-63 at the Gualberto Moreira gymnasium, securing their sixth consecutive victory in the NBB. Marquinhos was once again the game's top scorer with 17 points and six rebounds, closely followed by Anderson Varejão, who scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Olivinha also stood out with 10 rebounds, eight of them defensive. 

At the end of the match, Varejão spoke about the balanced confrontation with a team from the lower group in the standings. 

"This shows the balance of the NBB. We have to understand that it is very evenly matched. Regardless of their team being in this situation, they fought throughout the game, played hard and we need to respect that. Luckily we maintained our composure to close with a victory at the end," commented the number 17. Flamengo is now preparing for the second game in São Paulo, in the capital, against Pinheiros, on Thursday (08), at 19:30 pm, with transmission on the League's Facebook page. 

The game started very evenly. At home, Liga Sorocabana pressed forward and held off Flamengo's attack, keeping the game tied in the first half of the quarter. José Neto's team began to use JP Batista as their main weapon, and the center scored seven points, being the best player of the period. With five minutes remaining, it was tied at 10-10, but Flamengo pulled away and managed to build a lead of 10 consecutive points against Liga Sorocabana's zero, eventually finishing the first 10 minutes of the game 18-12. 

In the second quarter, the home team came back into the game and evened the score. Flamengo's lead decreased until the game was tied at 25-25, with 5 minutes and 31 seconds left. Neto made changes to the entire team, bringing Marcelinho, Pilar, Varejão, and Pecos onto the court. But Liga was more focused on the game, hitting three-pointers (nine points compared to only three for Flamengo, with Pilar), and finished the first half ahead, 36-41.

José Neto sent the team that started the game to the beginning of the third quarter. Liga maintained the advantage, but Marquinhos started to find his rhythm and evened the game. Cubillán and Olivinha turned the game around to 47-45, and Marquinhos, with two free throws, extended the lead. The number 11 also found Varejão in the paint to make it 51-47, an important advantage to close the quarter at 55-51. 

The final quarter was quite complicated, but Flamengo managed to maintain their lead. Marquinhos and Varejão scored 11 points each and made the difference, especially Varejão, with five rebounds in the period. The score was low for both teams, a credit to the defenses of both sides, who knew how to stop the attacks. And with Flamengo's efficiency, even with only 15 points, the sixth victory came with a final score of 70-63.