Franco Balbi meets Nação for the first time at the red-black house
Argentine point guard leaves his calling card on the Gávea court
By Lucas Dantas - in
The last Argentinian player to step onto the Hélio Maurício gym wearing the FlaBasquete jersey was Nico Laprovittola, in 2015. Three years passed until another point guard arrived at Gávea and began his journey. Franco Balbi met the fans for the first time this Tuesday, in the 100-36 victory over Niterói Basquete, in the second round of the 2018 State Championship. The reception was very good and finally the fans could see the number 6 up close.
The Argentinian from Junín played for 23 minutes, scored six points and gave six assists. As an option for Gustavo De Conti, he gave way to Matheusinho for a good part of the game, in addition to alternating, as expected, with Davi Rosseto. After the match, Balbi spoke about the feeling of playing at Gávea and his first contact with the fans.
"I felt good on the court. We played a great game, with a lot of intensity. The team has to play that way. It was our first game at Gávea and it was a good feeling, especially with the victory at the end. It's very important to have the fans supporting our team. It will be very important throughout the season," said Franco, who spoke about the game that Flamengo completely dominated and showed differences compared to the debut.
"The team came into the game at a different pace today. The pressure from the first game was gone. Today the intensity was much better. The volume of play was also higher. It was very good. We responded well to the interaction with the fans and played a great game at home."
Tickets for the classic are now on sale at guicheweb.com.br. The game will have a single Flamengo fan base and will be broadcast on FlaTV.
The basketball teams of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo receive funding from their sponsors – thinkseg, Estácio, AmBev, Rede D'or, IRB Brasil RE, CSN, Brasil Plural, and EY – via the Federal Incentive Law/Ministry of Sports (IR) and the State Incentive Law/Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat of Sports, Recreation, and Youth (Seelje), in addition to support from the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC) resulting from the decentralization of resources from the Pelé Law. The Anjo da Guarda Rubro-Negro Project, a personal tax transfer, benefits all Olympic sports of the Most Beloved.