Marcelinho Machado's three-pointers were falling again, and Flamengo won again in the Novo Basquete Brasil tournament. The number 4 proved he was practically recovered from his left hand injury, playing the full 40 minutes and leading scorer in Flamengo's 74-72 victory over Palmeiras/Araraquara on Sunday morning in São Paulo. The Flamengo captain converted two of his long-range shots and finished the game as the top scorer with 16 points.

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The game was fiercely contested from the opening minutes, as expected. Both teams took to the court with a strong will, scoring strongly, and also seeking victory. Encouraged by their fans, Palmeiras/Araraquara finished the first quarter ahead 27-26. But the red-and-black team soon came back. In the second quarter, coach Paulo Chupeta made some changes to the team and got results: they won the period 26-23 and took the lead 52-50.

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From then on, the red-and-blacks never relinquished the lead. Despite being closely contested, the game was well controlled by Flamengo, who even had a possession against them with four seconds remaining, but nevertheless remained calm and secured a 74-72 victory. The star of the game was Marcelinho, with 16 points and nine rebounds, but Jefferson, with 13, and Fred, with 11, also stood out.

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With the victory, Flamengo reaches a 62.50% success rate in this first phase of the 2009-2010 NBB. In eight games, the team has won five and lost three, and sits fourth in the standings. Brasília, with ten wins in 11 games, Joinville, with six wins in seven, and Franca, with six in eight, are the top three. In the next round, on January 22, the team from Gávea returns to Rio de Janeiro and hosts Bauru at 20 p.m. at the HSBC Arena.