Flamengo gets past Obras to advance to the Final 4

RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil) – Flamengo took care of business at home, defeating Obras Sanitarias 80-67 Thursday night at the Maracanazinho to sweep the series and advance to the Basketball Champions League Americas Final 4.

The Brazilians had a much more pedestrian performance than their Monday explosion in Buenos Aires, but still led most of the game – confirming along the way that they’re heavy favorites to win their second continental crown this year.

 

Turning point: It was a tale of two halves in Rio de Janeiro despite Flamengo leading during the las 39:21 of the game, as Obras fought hard throughout the night and found themselves down only 4 points at halftime.

However, Flamengo broke the game open with a 27-17 third quarter behind Gabriel Galvanini and Scott Machado and led by as many as 19 points midway through the fourth period.

Machado’s bomb at the end of the third period was a dagger through the heart of Obras:

 

Player of the Game: The aforementioned Galvanini scored 9 of his 24 points in the third quarter to lead the way for the home team.

He shot 10/14 from the field and added 7 rebounds, a steal and a block.

 

Flamengo as a team wasn’t as hot from beyond the arc (9/30) as they were on Monday, but Kayo Manfio remained on fire. After nailing his last attempt in the Group Stages and going 7/7 in Game 1, the sharpshooting big man drained his first 2 to reach 11 consecutive made three-pointers.

He finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds, going 3/6 from downtown.

 

Obras was led by Andre Spight, one of the best newcomers of BCL Americas Season 5.

The 29-year-old shooting had 25 points on 10/13 from the field and added 2 rebounds and 3 assists.

 

Pedro Barral (11 points and 3 assists) and Leandro Cerminato (8 points and 6 boards) also had good showings for the Argentinian club.

Stats don’t lie: If three-point shooting determined the outcome of Game 1, this time it was Flamengo’s sheer size and length that tipped the scales.

The home team won points in the paint 40-30, notched 13 offensive rebounds and played a disciplined game, only sending Obras to the line for 12 free throws.

Gustavo Conti’s squad also had 8 different players collecting at least 2 buckets, and didn’t even require much from Devon Scott, Didi Louzada or Carlos Olivinha.

Conversely, Obras could never get going on offense. They finished with more turnovers (13) than assists (12), and shot a middling 42.6 percent from the field, including 7/23 from long distance.

Bottom line: Flamengo, one of 3 squads to participate in all 5 editions of BCLA alongside Quimsa and Real Estelí, advanced to the semifinals for the 4th time in tournament history.

They’ll now play the winner of the Nacional-Halcones de Xalapa matchup for a spot in the final.

Meanwhile, Obras concluded their best showing yet at BCLA this year, when they advanced out of the Group Stage for the first time in 4 tries.

 

FIBA