The path to the Hexa (sixth championship) is set. FlaBasquete learned this Thursday which matchup will determine their opponent in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB). With Pinheiros' victory over Mogi (84-69), all matchups are now set. 

The quarterfinals begin on April 14th. The semifinals are scheduled to begin on April 30th, with the final series starting on May 19th. All stages will be best-of-five games, with the team with the better record having the advantage of playing up to three games at home. 

Twenty-five wins and only three losses. With the best record in the first phase, Flamengo finished on top and with home-court advantage until the final. The lead only came in the last round, with a victory over Vitória and Paulistano's defeat to Caxias. In addition to the lead, the current coaching staff achieved its best mark in the history of the competition, an 89,3% success rate. second best campaign for Flamengo in 10 years of NBB. 

Flamengo will play again only on April 17th and is awaiting its opponent. The Arena Carioca is already ready for the games. Both Vitória and Minas are old acquaintances of the Pride of the Nation. In the qualifying phase, there were four matches and four victories for Flamengo.

Back in 2017, Flamengo traveled to Minas Gerais to face the traditional Minas Gerais club and left the Arenas Minas Tênis Clube with an 83-76 victory, on a night when Marquinhos scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out four assists. 

Back in 2018, José Neto's team went to Salvador and faced Vitória, who were undefeated at home. "Was," in the sense of "faced Flamengo and look what happened." MJ Rhett dominated the game, scoring 16 points, and Olivinha, JP Batista, and Marquinhos also had excellent performances, securing another victory, their 11th consecutive win in the competition, by a score of 76 to 68. 

The following matches were in Rio de Janeiro, both in February of this year, already in the final stretch of the competition. Minas, first, couldn't withstand the crowd at Arena Carioca 1 and was defeated 96-84. Marquinhos scored 28 points and continued his path as one of the main favorites for MVP of the competition.

Against Vitória, in the last round, only victory mattered, pardon the pun. Flamengo needed to win to keep the flame of leadership alive. And the team did its part on the court. Varejão recorded another double-double (13 points/11 rebounds), Marquinhos was again the top scorer (22 points), and Marcelinho had another fantastic game. In the end, the players were still waiting for the result that came from the South and would confirm the leadership.

Flamengo is in the "left" bracket of the table. Besides Vitória vs. Minas, the other matchup will be Caxias vs. Botafogo. The winner will face Mogi in the quarterfinals. One finalist will emerge from this group. 

On the other side, Pinheiros and Basquete Cearense will play in the round of 16 and face Paulistano in the quarterfinals. In the same bracket, Vasco and Bauru will determine which team will face Franca in the quarterfinals.