It was all Flamengo. On Saturday afternoon (12), the Mais Querido went to the Wlamir Marques gym and dominated Corinthians, winning 91 to 68 and starting the second half of the season on the right foot. The match, valid for the Novo Basquete Brasil 11, had as highlights Marquinhos and Franco Balbi, with 22 and 19 points scored respectively.

The first quarter started evenly, with both teams finding space to attack but defending very well. Even so, Flamengo relied on the brilliance of Franco Balbi, who scored 10 points in the first 9 minutes and made the difference for the Mais Querido. With excellent performances from Marquinhos and Varejão, Flamengo took the lead 22-16.

The second half didn't change much. Playing tough on defense and managing to place attacking balls well, Mengo began to open up comfortable leads and suffered little from the opposing attacks. Corinthians still tried to close the gap with strong performances from Humberto and Fuller, but they couldn't withstand the Mais Querido's offensive power. The score remained 49-34 at halftime.

From then on, Flamengo only grew. The third quarter was the most evenly matched of the sets, but the performance remained consistent, and the solid lead on the scoreboard didn't let the home team gain any motivation. Thus, the team from Gávea continued until the final quarter, playing a respectable game and showing that the Red-Blacks will fight hard for the national title. At the end of the clock, a resounding 91-68 victory.

With the result, Fla continues to fight point for point with the first-placed Franca and Pinheiros, but remains in third place in the table. Rubro-Negro is already preparing for the next match, which will be a direct duel at the top of the table. On Monday (14), at 19 pm, Mengo faces Pinheiros away from home.

The basketball teams of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo receive funding from their sponsors – thinkseg, AmBev, Rede D'or, IRB Brasil RE, CSN, Brasil Plural, and EY – via the Federal Incentive Law/Ministry of Sports (IR) and the State Incentive Law/Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat of Sports, Recreation, and Youth (Seelje), in addition to support from the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC) resulting from the decentralization of resources generated by the Pelé Law. The Anjo da Guarda Rubro-Negro Project, a personal tax transfer, benefits all Olympic sports of the Most Beloved.