Flamengo defeat Boca Jrs, advance to Quarterfinals along with Hebraica Macabi

BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) - Two solid teams faced off when Flamengo and Boca Jrs met on Saturday morning, but it was Flamengo who came out on top with an 87-79 win at Estadio Luis Conde.

With the win, Flamengo has qualified for the Quarterfinals of this season of Basketball Champions League Americas.

Franco Balbi got Flamengo ahead early, leading by as many as 5, but fouls from both teams kept the first quarter a close back and forth as each team took a turn with the lead as the quarter ended 21-20.

Jose Vildoza made an impact all over the court for Boca Jrs, whether it be his defense grabbing steals and rebounds, scoring or assisting shots, which kept them close to a Flamengo team that has a solid rotation in the game.

The second quarter was no different as Boca Jrs were first to strike and take back the lead thanks to Manuel Rodriguez, but Flamengo quickly took the lead back and kept it for most of the quarter as Balbi and Scott Machado ran the offense for Flamengo while Wayne Langston and Marcos Mata led Boca Jrs.

The two teams were tied 38-38 with less than 10 seconds to play in the half, but a clutch three-pointer from Martin Cuello gave Flamengo a slight gap heading into the third quarter.

Flamengo would have their strongest quarter yet defensively in the third as they held a relentless Boca Jrs team to just 15 points while tipping in 20 of their own, good enough to create an 8-point gap.

Going on a 7-0 run midway through the quarter, Flamengo led by as many as 11 points as Guilherme Deodato and Devon Scott were the driving force, making shots and drawing fouls.

But Boca Jrs pushed back, with Vildoza and Leonardo Mainoldi closing the gap back to single digits heading into the fourth quarter.

Both teams looked strong to the finish line as Boca Jrs used their size in the paint to shoot 61 percent from two-point range through the game.

They also kept up with a talented Flamengo side by playing stifling defense that saw them tally 10 steals, flustering Flamengo and grabbing 15 points on the fast break.

But Flamengo's bench was too strong as they recorded 29 points with six players in their rotation scoring 8 or more points including four players pouring in over 12 points in the win.

Despite both teams adding 26 points each in the final quarter, the gap Flamengo created in the third quarter was enough to hang onto until the final buzzer, securing them a spot in the next round of play.

Balbi let Flamengo with 19 points including three 3-pointers and 4 assists. Deodato added 14 points and 4 rebounds, and Scott added a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Langston led Boca Jrs with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals while Mainoldi added 18 points in the loss.

FIBA