The night of doubleheaders of basketball and soccer at the Maracanã Complex began with a victory for FlaBasquete in the gym! The Pride of the Nation made its home debut in this edition of the New Basketball Brazil (NBB) with an 80-60 victory over Fortaleza BC. 

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In addition to the resounding victory, Mais Querido also had two players reach a double-double: Olivinha, with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Cuello, with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Rafael Mineiro was the top scorer with 18 points.

The game

The match began with Flamengo setting the tone and opening a strong lead with Deodato, Cuello, and Olivinha. Flamengo had a good run and closed the gap in the final minutes of the first period, but an offensive rebound followed by a basket by Cuello was the trigger for Flamengo to come back and take the lead, with back-to-back three-pointers from Faverani and the foreigner with jersey number 44. The first quarter ended with the scoreboard showing 23-15 for Flamengo.

The score was slow to change in the second period, until Faverani's basket, almost four minutes into the game; Mineiro then extended his lead with a shot from the dead zone. But as the half wore on, Fortaleza grew and played a balanced 14-13. Building on the advantage built in the previous period, the team from Gávea went into halftime leading 37-28.

The third quarter was marked by a stellar performance by Rafael Mineiro, who shot 100% from the field, scored 11 points, and was one rebound away from a double-double—which came in the fourth quarter. The Pride of the Nation won the quarter without a problem (24-19). In the final 10 minutes, Flamengo took a 7-0 lead through Penka, Olivinha, and Cuello. Overall, Gustavo De Conti's men already had a 20-point lead (68-47), and the team simply had to manage the victory to comfortably close out the game.

Highlights

Points - Mineiro (18), Olivinha (15), Cuello (13)

Rebounds - Cuello (12), Olivinha (11), Mineiro (9)

Assists - Penka (8), Cuello (6), Deodato (4)

Starting Quintet

Penka Aguirre, Gui Deodato, Cuello, Olivinha and Rafael Mineiro.

Coach: Gustavo De Conti.

Next appointment

The Pride of the Nation will play its second home match, against Unifacisa, next Thursday (27), at 19:15 pm, again at Maracanãzinho. Tickets can now be purchased from R$15 on the website flamengo.superingresso.com.br.