Flamengo fight, but Brasília win and reach the NBB semi-finals | OneFootball

Game 5 of the quarterfinal series took place this Friday (15)

The 2025/26 season is over for Flamengo basketball! This Friday (15), the Rubro-Negro was beaten 72-69 by Brasília in the Federal District in Game 5 of the quarterfinal series. The decisive matchup took place at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium. Mengão started poorly, saw the rival’s lead reach 19 points, fought back, closed the gap, but couldn’t complete the comeback.

The series went to a fifth game after being very evenly matched. Brasília won the first game at home, and Flamengo tied it while playing in Rio de Janeiro. Then came the road wins. In the third clash, the Brasília side came out on top at Maracanãzinho. In Game 4, the Rio team left Nilson Nelson with the win.

It is worth noting that Brasília had the right to host three games because it had a better campaign than Flamengo. The Federal District team finished fourth in the regular season, while the Pride of the Nation ended up in fifth place. Both had the same number of points, but the Central-West team had the edge on the tiebreakers.

HOW DID THE GAME GO?

Flamengo started the game very nervously, ‘tripping over their own feet’ and missing basic plays. On top of that, the team was forcing unnecessary three-point shots and couldn’t score. Brasília, meanwhile, was inspired and, with the team’s trademark strong defense, managed to stop Mengão, opening up a nine-point lead in the first ten minutes: 21-12. At one point in the quarter, however, the gap reached 19.

In the second period, Flamengo’s offense started to click, but the defense ‘stayed at’ the same first-quarter level. As a result, the teams tied the period 22-22. So they headed into the locker room with Brasília ahead, 43-34 on the scoreboard.

Needing ‘something different’ to turn the game around, Flamengo came out aggressively and, in the opening minutes of the third period, cut the deficit to four points. And that was how it stayed until the end of the quarter: 19-14 to Mengão in the period, but 57-53 to Brasília in the game. So the decision was left for the final quarter.

The four-point gap stubbornly remained on the scoreboard. With the game very physical and broken up by whistles, the teams barely scored in the opening moments. With five and a half minutes left, Flamengo finally cut the deficit to two points (60-58). Shortly after, Negrete tied it up at 60-60. Mengão took the lead with 1:40 left, when Negrete made two free throws (67-66).

Then it turned into a back-and-forth battle. Brasília went back in front, 68-67, with 45 seconds remaining. And Flamengo called a timeout. However, the play drawn up by the Rubro-Negro didn’t work, and the possession was wasted. With 10 seconds left, the home team led by one point (70-69). With 5” remaining, Mengo was down by two and had two free throws, with a chance to tie. However, Negrete missed both and buried Fla’s chances.

WHO WILL BE THE OPPONENT IN THE SEMIFINAL?

Brasília will now face Franca in the semifinal. The regular-season leader struggled to eliminate Mogi as well, also advancing 3-2. This Friday (15), the Franca team won in dramatic fashion by just one point: 78-77.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.