The pivot Olivinha entered Flamengo’s history by lifting the Intercontinental Cup, equivalent to the Club World Cup in men’s basketball, after Sunday’s victory (13) over San Pablo Burgos (Spain), who were defending the title, for 75 to 62, in the Hassan Moustafa gym, in Cairo (Egypt). The red-black captain is the only remaining, in the current squad, of the world champion team in 2014, in Rio de Janeiro.
“[A final] It was a game, in a way, even a little quiet. We managed to do everything Gustavo [de Conti, técnico] asked from the beginning, we opened a good gap in the first quarter and managed to manage it until the end. We did a very good job in both games”, celebrated Olivinha in an interview with FlaTV, also remembering the victory on Friday (11), in the semifinal, by 94 to 71, over Lakeland Magic (United States), a subsidiary of Orlando Magic who competes in the NBA development league [liga norte-americana de basquete].
Today, in several places in the world, Valentine’s Day is celebrated, equivalent to Valentine’s Day here in Brazil.
And the romantic era of Mengão is still firm with our creamy one. We can’t stop thinking about her: the cup ??#OMundoOnovo #FlaBasquete #Until the end #NaçãoBRB #FlaNoEgypt pic.twitter.com/cfU0RY6SeA
— Team Flamengo (@Time Flamengo) February 14, 2022
Olivinha, in fact, was the scorer of the decision, with 17 points. The point guard Dar Tucker grabbed six rebounds, while the point guard Yago Matheus distributed five assists in the match. The guard Luke Martinez, in turn, was elected the most valuable player in the competition, the so-called MVP (Most Valuable Player).
The Intercontinental Cup was Flamengo’s biggest goal in 2022. Some setbacks that preceded the tournament, such as defeats to Paulistano and Sesi Franca, by Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB), between November and December, and to Minas Tênis Clube, in January, in the semifinal of the Super 8 Cup (which brought together the best eight of the first round of the NBB), did not worry the technical commission.
With the second cup of the Intercontinental Cup, Flamengo became the Brazilian club with the most world titles – Gilvan de Souza/Flamengo/Reserved Rights
“Nothing is by chance. We were very focused and prepared. Sometimes, some criticism during the season, some defeats that are unexpected even for us, make us grow, but we can’t give in too much to any kind of pressure. right way for this competition [Intercontinental]. The important thing was to play like we were playing in Brazil. Everything went well”, said Gustavo de Conti, also to FlaTV.
The second achievement makes Flamengo the Brazilian club with the most world titles. The Sírio also lifted the intercontinental cup in 1979.
Rubro-Negro returns to the court on Sunday (20), at 11 am (Brasilia time), against Minas, in Belo Horizonte, for the NBB. The team from Rio de Janeiro is the runner-up in the competition, with 17 victories and two defeats, behind only Franca.
