Loaded by national team duo, Flamengo begins quest for third world basketball title against NBA G League team

The Flamengo basketball team traveled to the other side of the world to start the search for the third world club championship today. Champions of the Champions League of the Americas in April, by defeating Boca Juniors in the final, the team led by Argentine Sergio ‘Oveja’ Hernandez stamped their passport to go to Singapore to try to repeat what the ‘rubro-negro’ achieved in 2014 and 2022. The debut takes place this morning, starting at 6 a.m. (Brasilia time), against the NBA G League United, a team of players from the secondary tournament associated with the American league.
The Fiba Intercontinental Cup this year features six teams divided into two groups where everyone plays each other, and will run from this Thursday until Sunday (21st), when the leaders of each group will face each other in the final. The second-placed teams will compete for third place, while the bottom teams will play for fifth place.
Group A includes the current champion Unicaja (Spain), Al Ahli (Libya), and Utsunomiya Brex (Japan). Brazilians and Americans are in Group B, alongside Illawarra Hawks from Australia. Flamengo will face the Oceania opponents tomorrow, starting at 6 a.m.
National team duo
The technical leadership of the ‘rubro-negro’ squad is in the hands of the point guard Alexey Borges, elected the best player (MVP) of the Champions of the Americas, and the forward Gui Deodato. Both were starters in the Brazilian national team that won the Copa America at the end of last month.
The team left Brazil ten days ago to start preparations for the World Cup with two friendly matches in Spain, against San Pablo Burgos and San Sebastian. However, they were defeated in both matches: 106-86 and 84-79, respectively.
In practice, Flamengo is still in the preseason, and the tournament in Singapore will be the first challenge of the new schedule. The team’s roster faced some setbacks, such as the accident involving Franco Baralle. The newly hired Argentine point guard was hit by a motorcycle and suffered a serious ankle fracture.
With the exception of a few other injured players, the ‘rubro-negro’ maintained its core team and brought in some reinforcements, like American point guard Dee Bost, who initially signed until December. Center Eric Buckner and Guilherme Hubner will complete the team only in this World Cup. Despite everything, the coach arrives confident for the debut against the NBA G League team.
— I am an optimistic guy, my expectation is to win always. The real expectation is to play well, to be intelligent — assured Oveja. — We can’t let them play their game, we have to reduce the spaces. If we do that, we will be close to winning. The focus is only on this game, which is crucial in short-shot tournaments like this. Step by step — said the Argentine.
In 2014, Flamengo became world basketball champion for the first time by defeating Maccabi Haifa (Israel) at Maracanazinho. Then, in 2022, they won the second title in a tournament in Egypt, with a victory in the final against San Pablo Burgos. The club also finished as runner-up in the 2019 edition, losing to AEK (Greece), also in Rio de Janeiro.