The Linneu de Moura Gymnasium became a red-black ground. On Tuesday night (6), FlaBasquete felt at home even far from Rio and beat São José: 84 to 74. With the victory, the Mais Querido reached six consecutive victories in the Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB), occupying the second place.

Highlights

Gui Deodato: 18 points, 1 assist, 4 rebounds
Cuello: 17 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds
Aguirre: 13 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds

The game

The first basket of the game took a while to come. After two minutes of five three-point attempts—three for Flamengo, two for São José—Hettsheimeir opened the scoring with two points. From then on, Flamengo never relinquished the lead. Penka Aguirre was the standout performer in the first quarter, with eight points. Hett excelled on defense, grabbing five rebounds. The first half ended with Flamengo ahead by three points: 20-17.

The second quarter saw even more dominance for Orgulho da Nação. Cuello was impeccable, scoring all seven of his attempted points. The standout performer was Gui Deodato, who scored eleven points for Flamengo. With 12 points ahead of São José in this period, Flamengo went into halftime leading 46-31.

After the break, the home team grew in the game and reduced the lead. Figueredo and Morillo led the José de Freitas comeback, which led the period 13-2. Flamengo, however, never relinquished its lead. Hettsheimeir took responsibility and scored two points and a foul near the fifth minute of the quarter, increasing Flamengo's lead to seven points. Gustavo de Conti took advantage of the timeout to fine-tune the team's details, and FlaBasquete recovered in the period. At the end of the game, the scoreboard showed 63-57 for Flamengo.

In the final period, FlaBasquete once again asserted itself. With greater intensity and accurate shooting, the Mais Querido (Team of the Year) took a 14-0 lead in the fourth quarter, extending their lead to 20 points. Vildoza showed razor-sharp aim, hitting two consecutive three-pointers. At the final whistle, it was 80-69 for the Mais Querido.

Gui Deodato was the star of the game: the number 1 scored 18 points, more than half of which (12) came from three-pointers. Cuello wasn't far behind: 17 points, nine of which came from long range. On defense, Hettsheimeir was supreme: seven defensive rebounds. 

Starting Quintet

Penka Aguirre, Cuello, Mineiro, Gabriel Jaú and Hettsheimeir

Next round

Flamengo will not play in the ninth round of the NBB, which takes place next week. The Pride of the Nation will return to action in the competition on December 20th, against São Paulo, at the Dr. Antonio Leme Nunes Galvão Multi-Sports Gymnasium.

Before that, the Mais Querido team travels to Uruguay to compete in the first phase of the Champions League Americas. Mengão is in Group C, alongside Instituto and Peñarol.