After returning from Panama undefeated and qualifying for the second phase of the League of the Americas (LDA), Flamengo returned to play in the eighth edition of the New Basketball Brazil (NBB).

 

On Thursday night (04) Mais Querido defeated Paulistano 75-65 in a new rematch of the 2013/2014 NBB final, achieving their tenth consecutive victory in the competition. Marquinhos was the top scorer of the match with 17 points. In addition to the triumph, the game was marked by the interaction between the red-blacks' basketball and football: during halftime, captain Marcelinho Machado presented a personalized Sacred Mantle to Mancuello, the red-blacks' point guard, who went to the gym to support his club colleagues. Having recently arrived at Gávea, the Argentine received a basketball jersey with his name and number: 23.

With the result, Flamengo reached its 16th victory in 19 games, thus remaining at the top of the NBB, with 84,2% success rate.

The match started evenly with both teams playing hard on defense and attack, but in the final minutes of the first quarter, the São Paulo team prevailed, opening a five-point lead: Flamengo 13 to Paulistano 18. The second quarter began with the "Mais Querido" looking to recover. The red-and-black team managed to close the gap, demonstrating efficiency in both defense and attack: Flamengo 33 to Paulistano 33.

The third quarter began with a tight match between the teams, who managed to keep the game even and add to the excitement. However, Flamengo capitalized on home advantage and managed to open up a nine-point lead: Flamengo 54 to Paulistano 45. In the final ten minutes, the São Paulo team managed to get back into the game and close the gap, but José Neto stopped the match at the right moment and the Rubro-Negro grew again, managing its advantage gained minute by minute until the referee blew the final whistle: Flamengo 75 to Paulistano 65.

In addition to Marquinhos, the red-black team's top scorer with 17 points, four other athletes reached double figures in scoring: Marcelinho scored 12 points, while Rafael Mineiro scored 11. Rafa Luz and center Meyinsse scored 10 each.

Mengão's leader in tonight's victory, Marquinhos, spoke about the match. "I'm happy with our victory, even though we didn't play one of our best matches. We built the game collectively, and once again, our defense made the difference," said the top scorer.

The Clube de Regatas do Flamengo adult basketball team relies on direct funding from its sponsors – SKY, Estácio and Peugeot – in addition to investments from Tim via the State Sports Incentive Law/State Secretariat of Sports, Leisure and Youth (ICMS).