Rio de Janeiro (RJ), May 29, 2014 - Flamengo will be the first Latin American basketball club to play in the NBA preseason. In an unprecedented initiative, the American league announced this Thursday, the 29th, an invitation extended to Clube de Regatas do Flamengo to participate in the 2014-2015 NBA preseason. The Rubro-Negro, the current Brazilian and continental champion, will play two games in the United States in October - opponents and dates will be announced at a later date, as part of the global announcement of international games.

The invitation follows the same model as that of Euroleague clubs, inaugurating an unprecedented exchange in Brazilian basketball. The initiative reinforces the NBA's presence in Brazil, which confirmed in April that it would host its second official preseason game in the country on October 11th, featuring the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2013, the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards faced off in Rio de Janeiro.

Alexandre Póvoa, Flamengo's vice president of Olympic sports, highlighted the importance of the action in the club's internationalization strategy, in addition to the realization of a 'long-held dream'.

Flamengo always has an obligation to think big. Winning or losing is part of the sport in the arenas, but receiving an invitation from the NBA is simply the pinnacle of basketball. It represents a huge part of the desired internationalization of our brand. Through Flamengo, all Brazilian basketball fans will be able to realize this long-held dream.

"The NBA is delighted to announce this unprecedented initiative alongside Flamengo. This is a moment that will go down in history. We are certain that this initiative will greatly contribute to the growth of the sport in Brazil. What basketball fan could have imagined one day seeing a Brazilian team playing against an NBA team in the United States? I hope this brings even more visibility to the sport in the country, and that we have more and more young people and children playing basketball," said Arnon de Mello, vice president/executive director of the NBA in Brazil.

In addition to the 2014-2015 NBA preseason games in October, Flamengo has another important commitment in the second half of the year: the two final matches of the Club World Cup in September against Maccabi Tel Aviv (in Rio de Janeiro). Facing American teams will be nothing new for two athletes in the current Flamengo squad: Marquinhos played for the New Orleans Hornets (2006-2007) and Marcelinho Machado played in a Summer League edition for the Phoenix Suns.

About the NBA in Brazil

The NBA opened its Brazilian office in September 2012. Located in Rio de Janeiro, the office is the 15th worldwide, and its main objective is to bring the league closer to Brazilian fans. To this end, it has partnerships with ESPN and Space channels, and offers official products licensed by LojaNBA.com, an e-commerce site managed in partnership with Netshoes. Since its official launch, the NBA Brazil has been holding even more events, promoting initiatives and establishing partnerships, creating business opportunities, and working with the sport's governing bodies to promote the sport in the country. Since 2002, the league has held frequent events in the country, with "Latinos Unidos" being the pioneering project. In 2013, Rio de Janeiro hosted the first official NBA game in Brazil: Nenê's Washington Wizards and the Chicago Bulls faced off in a preseason match as part of the Global Games project. Currently, five Brazilian athletes play in the NBA: Anderson Varejão (Cleveland Cavaliers), Leandrinho Barbosa (Phoenix Suns), Nenê Hilário (Washington Wizards), Tiago Splitter (San Antonio Spurs), and Vitor Faverani (Boston Celtics). With almost 450 fans on social media, the NBA in Brazil has been gaining important ground and expanding the passion for basketball in the country.