RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil) – Flamengo survived a breathtaking ending to beat Boca Juniors, 70-69, in the first game of Group B of the 2024-25 Basketball Champions League Americas at Tijuca Tenis Clube in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Brazilians defended home court and started on the right foot in a new edition of this prestigious continental tournament.
Turning point
This was a close game that only found an outcome at the very end. Flamengo took a two-point lead (70-68) on a free throw from Gui Deodato with 2 seconds left and he missed the second one on purpose in an attempt to burn block. However, his shot missed the rim altogether and the clock didn’t move. That gave Boca one last shot to try to tie it or win it. Boca went to Colombian forward Andrés Ibargüen and he drew a foul going to the rim. But after making the first attempt, he missed the second and the Brazilians escaped with the victory.
Player of the game
Deodato (5 three-pointers) and Shaquille Johnson (8-for-8 at the charity stripe) scored 16 points apiece for the home squad.
Alexey Borges (5 assists) and Lucas Siewert (7 rebounds) added 11 and 10 points respectively for the winning cause. Ibargüen led Boca with 20 points, whole Sebastián Vega added 11 and 8 rebounds.
Stats don’t lie
Flamengo made 11 three-pointers to 4 for Boca and that allowed them to make up for a 46-20 deficit in points in the paint. However, the area where Gustavo Conti’s guys truly did damage was in taking advantage of their opponents’ mistakes. Although turnovers were fairly evenly divided (13 for Flamengo, 15 for Boca), the Brazilians had a 20-8 edge in points off those miscues.
Bottom line
Flamengo took care of business at home against the toughest team in the group and quickly jumped to first place. On Tuesday, they can extend their winning streak against Toros de Chiriquí (PAN) in the last game of this Group Stage window. Meanwhile, Boca showed good signs even in defeat. They’ll look to recover on Monday against the Panamanian outfit.
FIBA