This Wednesday night is special for Flamengo. The Red-Black team plays against Phoenix Suns, at 23 p.m. Brasília time. Once again making history, the team travels to the US Airways Center in Arizona for the first of three friendly matches in the 2014/2015 NBA preseason.

Rubro-Negro, coming off a World Cup victory over Maccabi Tel-Aviv, has been writing a basketball success story. It all started with title of the New Basketball Brazil 5This achievement made possible the accreditation of the team to participate in the League of the Americas, an unprecedented competition in the club's history.

In the Final Four, played at Maracanãzinho, more joy for the fans and the team win the competition against Pinheiros. Crowning this successful trajectory, the red-black team also won the NBB championship for the second time at the end of last season. 

Despite never having won the American League, the Suns were a major rival of the Chicago Bulls in the first half of the 1990s. Led by the legend Charles Barkley, Phoenix won the Western Conference in 1993 and qualified to compete for the title with the Bulls of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, who would go on to become three-time consecutive champions.

In the last NBA season (2013/2014), the Suns came very close to making the playoffs, one win behind the Dallas Mavericks, who were in eighth place, with 49 wins in the regular season.

SporTV2 and ESPN broadcast the three games live, and GloboEsporte.com follows the match in real time.

The team departed last Saturday for the series of games. "It will be a very important experience, not only for Flamengo and this group, which deserves so much for what it has already accomplished and for its dedication to the club, but also for Brazilian basketball. It's a big and important challenge, and we hope to gain a wealth of experience to use in the national basketball game," said coach José Neto upon boarding. After arriving, the Flamengo basketball team trained in the US on the opponent's home court. The following day was dedicated to strengthening muscles.

The American Basketball League's rules are not the same as those of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Here's what's changing for Wednesday's match:


 Table: NBA Brazil