Tuesday night was a tough one for Flamengo. The club's basketball and futsal teams had important matches, but the Gávea team ended up losing in both. In their debut in the South American Club League, Marcelinho and company couldn't hold their own against the strong Defensor team, losing 82-68 in Argentina. The futsal team, meanwhile, failed to beat América in Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, in the second leg of the State Championship.

The two matches took place almost simultaneously and fans can follow the broadcast of both, in real time, on Flamengo's official Twitter ( http://twitter.com/cr_flamengo). In Argentina, Flamengo was taking its first step toward its second South American basketball championship. In Tijuca, the club had another important commitment in its quest for its second state futsal championship. However, the expectation turned to sadness after the results, which complicated the red-and-black club's fortunes in both competitions.

Playing in Santiago del Estero, the Argentine city where they won the South American title last year, Flamengo arrived to face Defensor with key absences: Fred and Jefferson, both injured on the eve of the competition's start. Even so, coach Paulo Chupeta's team took the court with great enthusiasm and put up a tough fight against the Uruguayans in the first quarter. However, their shooting percentage fell far short of expectations. 

The Uruguayan team, on the other hand, had more composure. Under the leadership of Americans Collum and Sneed, who finished the game with 24 and 23 points, respectively, the Defenders opened up an 18-12 lead in the first quarter and never relinquished the lead. Not even Marcelinho Machado's strong performance, with 22 points and eight rebounds, prevented defeat. The Uruguayans won 82-68.

The result complicates the Gávea team's hopes in the competition. Now, the team needs to win its two remaining games, against Malvin on Wednesday and Quimsa on Thursday, and hope for a slip-up from Defensor. Therefore, there's still hope of qualifying with first place or as the best second-place team in the three groups combined.

While Flamengo had been behind from the start in Argentina, in Tijuca, the futsal team looked like they could come away with the win. In a very even and exciting match from the first minute, with late goals, complaints about the refereeing, and intense pressure from both sides, the team from Gávea managed to open the scoring against América, despite playing away from home.

Winger Silva scored the first goal with four minutes remaining in the first half. The lead unnerved América, the atmosphere heated up, and everything was heading toward a comfortable victory for Flamengo, who still missed good scoring chances. However, with eight seconds remaining in the first half, former Flamengo player Saulo's star power began to shine. With a free kick, awarded after Flamengo's sixth foul, he tied the game. And early in the second half, he scored América's second.

From then on, the game became exciting. América opened up a 4-1 lead, Flamengo pulled one back, the home side opened up a lead again, and in this electrifying rhythm, Saulo shone again: he scored three more times to close the score at 8-5 for Flamengo. Henrique, Panazio, Antony, and Rafael Pazos scored the other goals for Flamengo, who despite the loss remain in the top four of the competition. The top four advance to the final stage.