Flamengo defends NBB title on Saturday with a full house
See the expectations of athletes and coaches for the duel; fans sold out tickets in less than 48 hours
By Isabela Abirached and Raiana Monteiro - in
After a fiercely contested semifinal series with Mogi, Flamengo reaches another Game 5 this season, this time in the final sequence, for the NBB CAIXA title. Current three-time consecutive champion, the Mais Querido will be looking for its fifth trophy in the competition and will have the overwhelming support of the fans: the Nation sold out tickets this Monday (06), in less than 48 hours of sale. The fifth and final game of the finals will be this Saturday (11), at 14:10 pm, at Arena Carioca 2, with live broadcasts on SporTV and RedeTV! channels.
In this final series against Bauru, Flamengo won the first and third games (83-77 and 89-84) and lost the second and fourth (80-85 and 81-94). As the team finished first in the qualifying round, Flamengo earned the right to decide all the playoffs at home and is therefore one win away from being crowned champion in Rio de Janeiro.
After the tough defeat suffered last Saturday (04), in Marília-SP, power forward Olivinha stated that now is the time to learn from mistakes and make the most of the home advantage.
"The Bauru team really performed very well, and our defense was very poor. But we can't keep complaining. We have to be aware of our mistakes and be prepared to decide the championship in front of our fans," he said.
According to coach José Neto, this week before the decision will serve to adjust the team so that Bauru's high performance is not repeated on Saturday (11).
"We need to focus on what we can do, the mistakes we made, and what we can do together to get the win in Rio de Janeiro. We have to eliminate Bauru's decisive quality. They took advantage of their opportunities very well, with a lot of volume and very high efficiency, which culminated in the large point difference (in Game 4). One of the things that allowed us to beat Bauru on other occasions was precisely our ability to stop their three-point shooting," analyzed the red-and-black manager.
In the final match of the series, at the Neusa Galetti gymnasium, a brawl on the court halted play for a few minutes. Flamengo captain Marcelinho Machado hopes the incident will be over and won't affect Game 5. "I hope it doesn't carry over into the fifth game. Just as Bauru deserved to win today (Saturday, the 11th), I hope we play well and deserve to win on the court," he concluded.
The Clube de Regatas do Flamengo adult basketball team relies on direct funding from its sponsors – SKY and Estácio – in addition to investments from Tim via the State Sports Incentive Law/State Secretariat for Sports, Leisure and Youth (ICMS).
In this final series against Bauru, Flamengo won the first and third games (83-77 and 89-84) and lost the second and fourth (80-85 and 81-94). As the team finished first in the qualifying round, Flamengo earned the right to decide all the playoffs at home and is therefore one win away from being crowned champion in Rio de Janeiro.
After the tough defeat suffered last Saturday (04), in Marília-SP, power forward Olivinha stated that now is the time to learn from mistakes and make the most of the home advantage.
"The Bauru team really performed very well, and our defense was very poor. But we can't keep complaining. We have to be aware of our mistakes and be prepared to decide the championship in front of our fans," he said.
According to coach José Neto, this week before the decision will serve to adjust the team so that Bauru's high performance is not repeated on Saturday (11).
"We need to focus on what we can do, the mistakes we made, and what we can do together to get the win in Rio de Janeiro. We have to eliminate Bauru's decisive quality. They took advantage of their opportunities very well, with a lot of volume and very high efficiency, which culminated in the large point difference (in Game 4). One of the things that allowed us to beat Bauru on other occasions was precisely our ability to stop their three-point shooting," analyzed the red-and-black manager.
In the final match of the series, at the Neusa Galetti gymnasium, a brawl on the court halted play for a few minutes. Flamengo captain Marcelinho Machado hopes the incident will be over and won't affect Game 5. "I hope it doesn't carry over into the fifth game. Just as Bauru deserved to win today (Saturday, the 11th), I hope we play well and deserve to win on the court," he concluded.
The Clube de Regatas do Flamengo adult basketball team relies on direct funding from its sponsors – SKY and Estácio – in addition to investments from Tim via the State Sports Incentive Law/State Secretariat for Sports, Leisure and Youth (ICMS).