Machado brothers want the vacancy in Franca
Marcelinho and Duda emphasize the importance of beating their rivals away from home to secure qualification for the NBB final.
By From the team at Flamengo's official website - in
Flamengo is one win away from securing its third consecutive national basketball title. After falling behind in the best-of-five semifinal series against Franca, coach Paulo Chupeta's team did its homework, winning both games at HSBC Arena, and now returns to the Pedrocão Gymnasium needing just one more win to advance to the final. And the red-and-blacks want to secure that qualification, away from home, next Wednesday.
The task isn't easy, and the players know it all too well. The pressure from the Franca fans is immense when their team plays at home, but Flamengo is banking on experience to seal the semifinals in game four. Captain Marcelinho Machado believes the team has what it takes to win the series 3-1, and he's already demonstrated that on the court.
"When we reached this semifinal, we already knew it wouldn't be easy. Franca has a strong team, used to playing in the playoffs, and that makes things very difficult. The game there in São Paulo is completely different, the fans put a lot of pressure on us, but we also have a strong, experienced group, and I believe we can come away with a spot," said the number 4.
His brother and another standout for the red-and-black team, point guard Duda agrees. Responsible for 17 points for Flamengo in last Saturday's victory over Franca, the number 10 is confident that the team will overcome the difficulties of playing away from home to qualify.
"The defense was very good, once again, we managed to play a good game and got the result we needed. That was our goal and now we go to Franca wanting to come back with the spot. We know it won't be easy, that they'll come at us, needing the result, but a win will qualify us and we really want to reach this final," he said.
It's worth remembering that even in the first game of the series, when they ended up losing, Flamengo dominated Franca for almost the entire match. The team opened up a 17-point lead, but eventually conceded the comeback late in the fourth quarter. In the Rio games, the team from Gávea was also superior, but they didn't give any chances to chance and emerged victorious.
The task isn't easy, and the players know it all too well. The pressure from the Franca fans is immense when their team plays at home, but Flamengo is banking on experience to seal the semifinals in game four. Captain Marcelinho Machado believes the team has what it takes to win the series 3-1, and he's already demonstrated that on the court.
"When we reached this semifinal, we already knew it wouldn't be easy. Franca has a strong team, used to playing in the playoffs, and that makes things very difficult. The game there in São Paulo is completely different, the fans put a lot of pressure on us, but we also have a strong, experienced group, and I believe we can come away with a spot," said the number 4.
His brother and another standout for the red-and-black team, point guard Duda agrees. Responsible for 17 points for Flamengo in last Saturday's victory over Franca, the number 10 is confident that the team will overcome the difficulties of playing away from home to qualify.
"The defense was very good, once again, we managed to play a good game and got the result we needed. That was our goal and now we go to Franca wanting to come back with the spot. We know it won't be easy, that they'll come at us, needing the result, but a win will qualify us and we really want to reach this final," he said.
It's worth remembering that even in the first game of the series, when they ended up losing, Flamengo dominated Franca for almost the entire match. The team opened up a 17-point lead, but eventually conceded the comeback late in the fourth quarter. In the Rio games, the team from Gávea was also superior, but they didn't give any chances to chance and emerged victorious.