Heroic!! What a comeback!!! Flamengo made its South American League debut this Tuesday against San Martin de Corrientes of Argentina, and it was a game that lifted everyone's spirits. Playing far below their potential, the Red-Blacks (who played in white) trailed the Argentines for three quarters, with some unrecognizable moments. But in the final quarter, the Pride of the Nation took the court, overturned the deficit to 11 points, and ultimately won 76-75. Ramon, with 21 points, was the team's top scorer. The Most Beloved returns to play this Wednesday against Hebraica Macabi at 19:45 pm Brasília time, broadcast on Sportv3. 

After the match, winger Marquinhos praised the team and their fight until the last play, when the score was completely in favor of the Argentines. 

The team took a while to find its feet in the first quarter, allowing the Argentines to open up a 10-point lead. Midway through the quarter, José Neto made a change, bringing on Marcelinho, MJ, João Vitor, and Pecos, and Flamengo gradually got back into the game. Pecos organized the plays, and Corrientes's shots stopped falling. In addition, Flamengo forced fouls, and the tactic paid off. The Argentines eventually overshot their goal limit, and Flamengo capitalized, closing the gap at 24-25 in the final minute. But Lescano hit a three-pointer and extended the lead again, closing the gap at 27-30. 

In the second quarter, Flamengo came out with a sharp aim for three-pointers. First, Olivinha scored to tie the score at 30-30. Soon after, Marcelinho scored his own and turned the score around for Flamengo. However, the team stalled. And in a quarter with very low scoring, the team went more than six minutes without scoring. The Argentines took advantage. Despite their low scoring, they continued to score and opened up a 33-40 lead, forcing Neto to call a timeout to adjust the team. But the ball refused to fall out of play. Flamengo only scored again with Marquinhos on a free throw with a minute remaining in the quarter. Marquinhos also added another, closing the deficit to nine points (37-46) at the end of the first half. 

To close the gap, Flamengo returned for the second half with Cubillan, Ramon, Marquinhos, Olivinha, and MJ on the court. However, two fouls by Ramon gave San Martin opportunities, which capitalized and extended the lead to 11. Ramon then took charge of reducing the deficit at the 24-second mark. The team continued to lack shooting and underperform when Neto brought JP, Pecos, and Marcelinho into the game. Little by little, Flamengo began to close the gap. With two minutes remaining, Marcelinho hit a three-pointer and was also fouled, converting another point and reducing the lead to nine. It wasn't enough. Due to repeated offensive errors, Flamengo was unable to close the gap and ended the third quarter down 52-63. 

A different Flamengo team was on the court in the final quarter. Playing their hearts out in the final period, Flamengo took a 7-3 lead after a beautiful three-pointer by Pecos. With a great assist from Marcelinho, JP scored two more to close the gap to five. JP himself took responsibility and hit two more on hook shots in the paint, forcing Gonzalez to call a timeout, making the score 63-66 to the Argentines. With four fouls, the center gave way to João Vitor. Next, Aguerre hit a three-pointer to cool the Gávea team's spirits, increasing the lead to six (63-69), forcing Neto to call a timeout. On the return leg, Ramon hit a three-pointer as the clock expired to make it 66-69. With JP back, the team closed the gap to 68-71, but on the counterattack, Faggiano scored. It was Olivinha's turn to score again and keep the gap close. The equalizer finally came with Marquinhos' three-pointer with 1:15 remaining. Then Ramon broke the deadlock. With a beautiful crossover over Treise, he shot and scored a three-pointer with 44 seconds remaining. It was the play that decided the match. The Argentines rushed forward but lost possession, and Flamengo was able to celebrate their opening victory.