FlaBasquete loses to Minas and ends its participation in the Super 8 Cup
Without Olivinha and Túlio da Silva, the team suffers from the opponent's high performance in the third quarter and says goodbye to the tournament in the semifinals.
By Communication - Flamengo - inFlamengo ended its participation in the Super 8 Basketball Cup on Tuesday night (18). Rubro-Negro hosted Minas, at Maracanãzinho, fought hard until the last moment for a place in the final, but suffered with the opponent's high performance in the third quarter of the match - a period in which they scored only seven points.
Without Túlio da Silva and Olivinha, who are self-isolating after being diagnosed with COVID, coach Gustavo De Conti's team entered the court with significant absences for the semifinal. The standout players in action were Brandon Robinson and Dar Tucker, with 19 and 13 points each, respectively.
The game
A Yago alley-oop for a Faverani dunk opened the match and the score for the Red-Blacks in style. The game remained fiercely contested, with the fans chanting loudly in the stands. The opponent briefly took the lead, but the Red-Blacks closed the period with a two-point lead: 18-16.
In the second quarter, the game resumed in a tight spot, with both teams' shooting slow, until an inspired Brandon Robinson put together a series of points that lifted the fans in the Maracanãzinho gymnasium – the foreigner finished the first half with a 100% success rate. A basket from outside the perimeter by Luke Martinez extended the Mais Querido's lead to nine points: 32-23. The score was 36-28 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Minas responded and managed to turn the game around (36-37). After a back-and-forth, the minutes continued with a very high efficiency from the opponent, who won the period 26-7. With just over eight minutes remaining, Rafael Mineiro scored a basket, drew a foul, and got the crowd going, who began to chant loudly and never stopped. The team responded with baskets from Luke Martinez, Dar Tucker, and Brandon Robinson, but Minas had an inspired night. The team showed no lack of spirit and fought hard until the last second, trying to turn the score around with a few three-point attempts, but the ball wouldn't fall. The team left the court to a standing ovation.
Back to the NBB
Now Flamengo turns its attention back to the New Basketball Brazil (NBB) competition. The team returns to the court on January 25th at 20 pm at Maracanãzinho for a match against Caxias do Sul. They then face Pato and Mogi das Cruzes away from home before heading to Egypt for the FIBA Club World Cup, the Intercontinental Cup. Their debut match will be on February 11th against Lakeland Magic.
The basketball teams of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo rely on resources from their sponsors – BRB, MOSS, TIM, AmBev, Rede D'or, IRB Brasil RE, CSN, Brasil Plural, EY – via the Federal Incentive Law/Ministry of Sports (IR) and State Incentive Law/State Secretariat of Sports, Leisure and Youth (Seelje) of Rio de Janeiro, in addition to support from the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC).