Corinthians beat Unifacisa in NBB last-16 opener, Oscar honoured | OneFootball

On the morning of this Tuesday (21), Corinthians hosted Unifacisa at Ginásio Wlamir Marques, in Parque São Jorge, for the first game — in the best-of-five series — of the round of 16 of the 2025/2026 Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) season and won by a score of 88 to 78. The teams will face each other again next Friday (24), at 7:30 p.m., at the opponent’s home court — Arena Unifacisa, in Campina Grande.

Head coach Jece Leite selected the following lineup to start the game: Elinho, Elyjah Clark, Lucas Cauê, Davaunta Thomas and Victão. The bench options were: Tico Faria, Cauê Borges, Kaique, Jamelão, Raimundo, Gabriel Novaes and Rafael Munford. The opponent started with: Leal, Coelho, Jimmy, Siffontes and Carr.

Photo: Beto Miller/Agência Corinthians

Corinthians beat their opponent in the first two periods by 25 to 17 and 24 to 17, respectively. In addition, they tied the third at 19 to 19 and were outscored in the last one by 25 to 20. Even so, in the overall score they came away with an 88 to 78 victory. Timão’s main standouts in the game were Davaunta Thomas — the top scorer with 21 points — as well as Lucas Cauê and Elinho, who posted 12 points and 11 rebounds, and 12 points and 11 assists, respectively.

Corinthians started the game with clear control over Unifacisa, with Elinho and Elyjah Clark standing out in finishing plays, especially on shots from beyond the arc. The second period followed the same script, with the opponent trying to put pressure on the Parque São Jorge club, which still managed to keep its lead on the scoreboard.

In the third quarter, Corinthians saw the opponent take control of the action offensively, but the Black-and-White side still managed to pull level in the period. Finally, in the fourth and last quarter, the Parque São Jorge club once again saw its rival start better, putting together a run of eight straight points. Jece Leite’s men, however, responded in the game and closed it out with a 10-point lead on the scoreboard.

Tribute to a Brazilian basketball legend

Before the start of the game between Corinthians and Unifacisa, Timão held a tribute to Oscar Schmidt, a legend of the sport both in Brazil and worldwide, who passed away at the end of last week. Wearing the Corinthians jersey, he played between 1995 and 1997, winning the Brazilian championship with the São Paulo club in 1996.

Among the tributes, images of the player were shown on the big screen, along with some of his items that were at the Parque São Jorge Memorial, such as a signed jersey and the clay frame with the former player’s two hands. There was also a minute of silence before the game.

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