The ball will go up for the 2024/25 season of the New Basketball Brazil (NBB). And right at the start, the Pride of the Nation will face the Rio de Janeiro classic against R10 Score Vasco da Gama, which will be played this Saturday (12), at 17 pm, at the Tijuca Tennis Club gym. As the home court belongs to the rival, only Vasco fans will be allowed to enter.

The competition will feature the 18 best teams in Brazil and will feature changes to the playoffs. With two-legged and two-legged matches, 16 of the 18 teams will qualify for the round of 2025. The major change will be the number of games in each knockout series, increasing from three to five. The final will take place in June XNUMX.

Argentine Franco Balbi, who is entering his sixth season with Mengão, spoke about his expectations for his debut in the NBB:

"It's important to start winning; we have to focus on what we've been working on and putting it all into practice on the court. I'm the player with the most years at Flamengo, but I'm still the same; I don't think much has changed for me. We always aim to go as far as possible, and we'll work towards that," said the point guard.

Check out the 18 participating teams:
Bauru Basket (SP)
Botafogo (RJ)
BRB/Brasília (DF)
Caxias do Sul Basketball (RS)
Corinthians (SP)
Farma Conde São José Basketball (SP)
Flamengo (RJ)
Fortaleza BC/CFO (CE)
Sesi Franca (SP)
Minas Tennis Club (MG)
Mogi Basketball (SP)
Duck Basketball (PR)
Paulistano (SP)
Pinheiros (SP)
Sao Paulo FC (SP)
Corinthians Union (RS)
Unifacisa (PB)
R10 Score Vasco da Gama (RJ)

Transmission
The 2024/25 NBB will be broadcast on free-to-air television on TV Cultura. Sportv and ESPN will broadcast the competition on cable channels. FlaTV and FlaTV+ will also broadcast the tournament online.

Red-black cast
Franco Balbi, Alexey Borges, Matheus Gueiros, Yan Marun, Shaq Johnson, Gui Deodato, Jordan Williams, Jhonatan Luz, Luan Rodrigues, Kayo Gonçalves, Lucas Siewert, Taya Gallizzi, Italo Honorato and Isaque Duarte.
Coach: Gustavo De Conti.