The Pride of the Nation debuts in the South American League this Tuesday (3) and will fight for another important international title in its history. With important reinforcements and a lot of determination, FlaBasquete officially begins the 2017-18 season with one focus: to win all possible titles. Held in Chocó, Colombia, the competition features 16 important clubs from the continent.

Check out all the information about the FlaBasquete challenge:

Tuesday (03), 19:45 pm

Flamengo x San Martin

Wednesday (04), 19:45 pm

Hebraica y Macabi x Flamengo

Thursday (05), 22pm

Cimarrones del Choco x Flamengo

Home team Cimarrones del Chocó (COL) is the current Colombian champion and secured its spot after upsetting Fast Break in the final series. With the chance to play in front of its home crowd, the team hopes to pull off a surprise and secure a spot in the next stage of the League.

San Martín de Corrientes (ARG) finished runner-up in the Northern Conference of the Argentine national league and secured its place in the competition. The team, which finished second in the South American Championship in 2015 after losing to Brasília, has an 85-year history.

Hebraica Macabi, two-time Uruguayan league champion, is a leading figure in its home country. At 78 years old, the club is coming strong in pursuit of its first international title.

Flamengo has announced four new signings for the season. Henrique Pilar, MJ Rhett, David Cubillan, and Arthur Pecos are already part of the Flamengo squad and traveled with the delegation to Colombia.

A standout in the preseason, point guard Pecos was the first name announced and quickly showed fans why he was named the best sixth man in the last NBB. Fellow point guard Cubillan and power forward MJ were the international additions and promise to shake up the FlaBasquete courts. The last signing to be announced, power forward Pilar, has completed intense training and is ready to step up in the paint.

This will be Flamengo's ninth appearance in the South American League. In 2009, the "Mais Querido" (the most beloved team) painted the continent red and black for the first time when, with a spectacular performance by captain Marcelinho Machado, they defeated Quimsa in Argentina in front of a packed stadium, 98-96. Scorer of 41 points in the final, the number 4, along with coach Paulo Chupeta, led FlaBasquete to the undefeated title.

It is worth remembering that Mais Querido is a two-time champion of the South American Championship, organized before the current League, winning titles in 1953 and 1961.

 About the competition

The South American League is played annually and brings together important teams from across the continent. In total, the tournament has already had 21 editions, all won by Argentines or Brazilians. The champion also earns the opportunity to participate in the League of the Americas.

Currently, the competition is divided into four groups of four teams each. Groups A, B, and C are divided into the top two teams and the best third-place team overall. Group D comprises the national champions of Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru.

Then, in the semi-final stage, the remaining eight are divided again and only the first-placed team from each group advances to the final, which will be decided in a best-of-five match.