Flabasquete defeats Pato Basquete and secures leadership in the NBB Opening Tournament

Flabasquete began its participation in the NBB Opening Tournament with a victory over Fortaleza by 87 to 71, on Monday night (29), at Arena BRB Nilson Nelson, in Brasília. The victory marks a good start in the pre-season competition and highlights the team's initial rapport.

Point guard Alex Negrete led the team with 18 points . Alexey Borges also stood out with 16 points and 7 assists, while power forward Kayo Gonçalves contributed 12 points and 4 rebounds.

ENGAGEMENT AND PREPARATION

After the match, Kayo Gonçalves emphasized the importance of the tournament for the squad's chemistry and cohesion. " This tournament will be very important for us to get some experience, to have more contact with the game. It's extremely important for us coming off the World Cup, which was a different kind of preparation ," he said before concluding.

" We're going to use these games to get to know each other better on the court and build the chemistry that will lead us to better results when the season starts ," said the Flamengo power forward.

FLAMENGO'S NEXT CHALLENGE

Flamengo returns to the court this Tuesday (30), at 5:30 pm, to face Pato Basquete, again at Arena BRB Nilson Nelson. Just like the debut, entry will be free and the broadcast will be provided by Metrópoles, on YouTube.

Flabasquete debuts this Monday (29) in the NBB Opening Tournament, a competition that marks the pre-season of national basketball. Rubro-Negro faces Fortaleza at 8 pm, at Arena BRB Nilson Nelson, in Brasília , with free entry for fans and exclusive broadcast on Metrópoles' YouTube channel.

Next, Flamengo returns to the court this Tuesday (30), at 5:30 pm, to face Pato Basquete, also in Brasília. In its second edition, the NBB Opening Tournament has the participation of 12 teams , organized into four groups with three teams each. In the initial phase, the matches are played in a single round.

The group leaders advance to the title game , while the second-place teams play for 5th through 8th place. Third-place teams compete for 9th through 12th place. This means each team is guaranteed at least four matches, regardless of their final standings.

COACH HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TOURNAMENT

The club's coach, Sérgio Hernandez , emphasized the importance of the competition in the preparation process for the New Basketball Brazil. " It's a great opportunity for us to compete in this competition . Each team is guaranteed four games, regardless of their position in the first phase. And that's perfect; it's ideal for the stage of preparation we're in," the coach stated.

He also emphasized that the competition contributes to the team's collective development: " We're coming off an extremely tough start to the season, like the Club World Cup . Now we're entering a reality that's a little more similar to what we'll experience in the NBB. This will allow us to continue maturing as a team, both through the games we'll play, the training sessions we'll have there, and the week-long experience together. All of this will contribute significantly to the team's growth," he added.

The defeat in the first match after an impressive comeback in the last quarter against NBA G-League United proved detrimental to Flamengo's campaign in the FIBA Club World Cup. The American team beat the Illawarra Reds (AUS) on Saturday morning (20) and eliminated FlaBasquete's chances of winning the intercontinental tournament.

THE GAME

The first quarter of the match revived Flamengo 's chances, with the Australian team finishing ahead by just one point, a result that would have put Mengão in the final . The second quarter, however, was dominated by the American team, who opened up an advantage and finished the first half with a 51-45 lead, in a great defensive display.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the teams traded points and Illawarra managed to reduce the difference to just two points, but G-League United recovered in the period and finished the quarter at 73 to 68. In the last quarter, the American team showed what they were capable of, opening a 10-point lead and making it difficult for the Australian to react, closing the game at 100 to 94 .

FLABASQUETE CAMPAIGN

Flamengo debuted with a 93-91 defeat at the Basketball World Cup against NBA G-League United on Thursday morning (18) in a game of strong emotions. Two-time champion of the competition, with titles in 2014 and 2022 , Sérgio “Oveja” Hernández's team dreamed of a third title. And, despite the defeat, they showed the power to react.

In the very next match, FlaBasquete secured a thrilling victory over Australia's Illawarra Hawks, continuing their pursuit of a spot in the final. The red-and-black team triumphed in overtime thanks to a superb performance by Alexey , in a match decided in the final seconds. But the defeat to the Americans was too much to overcome, and Flamengo was eliminated from the Basketball World Cup.