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Quote:Liga Sudamericana – Flamengo go for glory in Liga Sudamericana





CUCUTÁ (Liga Sudamericana) – Flamengo go into their opening game of the Liga Sudamericana on Tuesday in Colombia against Cocodrilos looking to make up for their near miss of 2008 when they reached the final but lost to Argentina’s Regatas Corrientes.



Vasco Da Gama won back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, but the only other Brazilian side to win the competition has been Uberlândia in 2005.



Liga Nacional clubs from Argentina have won the other nine Liga Sudamericanas, a tournament that first tipped off in 1996.



“Flamengo are always well prepared to represent the country in any international competition,” coach Paul Sampaio said.



“We are ready to have a good campaign.



“The team is doing well in the NBB, playing strong defense and with a fast attack.”



Indeed, Flamengo have been in good form this season.



They won their first two games in the FIBA Americas League but then missed out on the Final Four in Mexico after slipping up 96-92 to fellow Brazilians Universo/BRB in a Group C decider on January 14.



Universo instead went to the Final Four and ended up beating hosts Halcones Xalapa in a thrilling final.



In Brazil’s top flight, Flamengo have bounced back by winning four of their five games.



They share the league lead with Joinville.



In the Liga Sudamericana, the Rio de Janeiro club is in Group A with Cocodrilos of Venezuela, Obras Sanitarias of Argentina and hosts Cucuta-Norte.



One of the Brazil internationals in the Flamengo side is Marcelinho, the high-scoring shooting guard/small forward who played in last year’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens.



“Two of the teams we already know how strong they are, but Cucuta is a team that we have little information on but is the current champion Colombia and playing at home,” he said.



“We think step by step and the first is against Cocodrilos, an experienced team, which is the basis of Venezuela’s national team and has been strengthened with (recent signing) Kevin Freeman,” Marcelinho said.



Cucuta-Norte face Obras Sanitarias in Tuesday’s other opening day clash.



Group B has Argentinians Quimsa and Regatas Corrientes, Brazilians Minas Tenis Clube and Bolivians Meta La Salle.

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Quote:Liga Sudamericana - Cucutá-Norte defeat Flamengo – both advance in Liga Sudamericana





CUCUTÁ (Liga Sudamericana) - Cucutá-Norte scraped an 83-82 win over Flamengo on the third and final day of Group A action in the Liga Sudamericana while Obras Sanitarias crashed to a heavy defeat to Cocodrilos de Caracas.



Cocodrilos lost their opening two games but still had a chance to advance in the competition as one of the top two sides after hammering Argentinians Obras in Thursday’s first game.



The Venezuelans put the result beyond doubt with a 17-4 run over the last 5:22 of the first half for a 44-30 lead at the break.



Henry Páez and Eddie Elisma each had 10 points at half-time for Cocodrilos. The Caracas outfit stayed on top with a comfortable advantage the rest of the way and the victory meant that they would progress if Flamengo were to defeat Cucutá-Norte in the second game of the day.



Instead, the Group A hosts Cucutá prevailed and by the narrowest of margins.



An Eduardo Torres basket lifted the home side into an 83-81 lead with just under two minutes remaining.



Only one more point was scored the rest of the way, a free throw by Flamengo’s Frederico Lima.



Brazil international Rafael Araujo was off target for twice for Flamengo while Lima also missed a shot from three-point range.



Torres finished with a team-high 24 points for Cucutá-Norte while Edgar Moreno had 21 and Monty Wilson 19.



Cucutá were eight of 16 from three-point range, with Wilson drilling four of nine and Moreno three of five.



Flamengo were 10 of 30 from behind the arc, with Marcelinho Machado drilling six of 16 on his way to a game-high 26 points.



Jefferson weighed in with 17 for the Brazilian team.



The day’s outcomes left Cucutá-Norte first in Group A and Flamengo second, both with 2-1 records.



Cocodrilos and Obras both missed out on the next phase with 1-2 records.



Quimsa and Regatas Corrientes of Argentina, Minas Tenis Clube of Brazil and Meta La Salle are in Group B, which tips off on February 24.

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Quote:Liga Sudamericana – Liga Sudamericana Group B tips off on Tuesday in Argentina





SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Liga Sudamericana) - Flamengo and Cucuta-Norte are in the final round of the Liga Sudamericana, and now the question is which two teams will join them.



Group B tips off in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, on Tuesday night with Argentinian outfits Quimsa and defending champions Regatas Corrientes, Brazilians Minas Tenis Clube and Meta La Salle of Bolivia aiming for the top two spots.



Three of the teams – hosts Quimsa, Regatas and Minas Tenis - have already been engaged in the international hoops battles this year by taking part in the FIBA Americas League.



Quimsa have home-court advantage in Group B but they are not in the best of form this season. In the FIBA Americas League, Carlos Romano’s team won only one of its three games while in the second phase of the Liga Nacional, the club is in 11th place.



Regatas are only two places ahead of them in the Liga Nacional, and they have suffered a blow with the unavailability of veteran guard Alejandro Montecchia.



The Argentina 2004 Olympic hero will be with his father, who is ill.



Minas Tenis played well in the FIBA Americas League and advanced to the Final Four while Meta La Salle are in the competition by virtue of winning their domestic title last season.



Regatas face Minas Tenis Clube in Tuesday’s opener with Quimsa taking on Meta La Salle in the nightcap.

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Quote:Liga Sudamericana - Argentina sweep opening day in Liga Sudamericana Group B



SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Liga Sudamericana) - Defending champions Regatas Corrientes and Group B hosts Quimsa won their Liga Sudamericana openers on Tuesday night.



Regatas needed two overtimes but finally beat Brazilian outfit Minas Tenis Clube 113-102 while Quimsa pummeled Meta La Salle of Bolivia 97-56 in the second game.



Argentinians Regatas looked to be headed for defeat but got two free throws with eight seconds left in regulation from Luis Cequeira to pull level at 85-85.



Minas still had time to win but Facunda Sucatzky and Leandro Da Cuz each missed shots and the game went to overtime.



In the final seconds of the first extra period, Sebastian Lopez split a pair at the line to knot the contest at 95-95.



Minas again had a chance to clinch victory before time expired but Joe Shipp's attempt from long range was off target.



In the second OT, Sebastián Acosta, Durelle Brown and Federico Kammerichs each excelled for Regatas as they reeled off 10 straight points to take command.



Regatas' Cequeira led all scorers with 26 points while Lopez had 21.



Minas got 21 from Brazil international Murilo Becker with Soro Pinto contributing 16 and Joe Shipp 15.



Meta La Salle were no match for Quimsa.



They committed 10 first-quarter turnovers and fell behind 25-16 by the end of the frame.



Quimsa duo Julio Mazzaro and Gabriel Mikulas combined for 19 second-quarter points, helping the hosts take a 54-26 stranglehold on proceedings by half-time.



The home side pressed home the advantage over the final two quarters in the rout.



Vanderson Camargos had 18 points and Julio Mázzaro 15 for Quimsa.



For Meta La Salle, John Thomas also scored 18 and Carlos Galarza 16.



On Wednesday night, Minas Tenis take on Meta La Salle while Quimsa face Regatas in the second game.

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Quote:Liga Sudamericana – Quimsa win nail-biter over Regatas; Minas thump Meta La Salle



SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Liga Sudamericana) - Quimsa prevailed over Regatas Corrientes in a battle of Argentinian Liga Nacional sides on Wednesday to remain unbeaten in Liga Sudamericana Group B.



Playing at home, Quimsa won 96-91 to improve to 2-0.



On Day 3, Quimsa will take on Minas Tenis Clube (1-1), who thrashed Meta La Salle of Bolivia 110-67 in Wednesday's first clash.



In a thrilling encounter, defending Liga Sudamericana champions Regatas almost followed up their opening day triumph over Minas Tenis by beating Quimsa.



Regatas trailed 45-38 at half-time but battled back in the third quarter and went in front at 54-53 before the frame ended with the showdown knotted at 70-70.



After Damian Tintorelli fouled out for Regatas, Quimsa were able to build a five-point cushion only for Silvio Santander's men to claw their way back with two Luis Cequeira (23 points) free throws closing the gap to 92-91 with 1:30 remaining.



Wanderson replied with a basket and Julio Mázzaro sank two free throws as Quimsa clinched victory.



Mázzaro had 23 points, Gabriel Mikulas 21 and Jonatan Treise 20 for Quimsa, who did a lot of their damage from the free-throw line.



They were 37 of 41 (91%) compared to 21 of 32 (66%) for Regatas.



Quimsa also out-rebounded Regatas 32-23 with Mikulas and Ramel Allen (11 pts) pulling down 10 boards apiece.



Sebastian Acosta finished with a game-high 24 points in defeat for Regatas. He was three of six from long range while as a team, Regatas buried eight of 16.



In Wednesday’s first game, Minas blew out Meta La Salle at the start, scoring the first 13 points of the contest.



They had a 40-11 stranglehold on proceedings by the end of the opening quarter and went to half-time with a 65-24 advantage.



The Brazilians cruised the rest of the way.



Soró Pinto had 32 points for Minas, who also got 16 from Joe Shipp and 14 from Brazil international Murilo Becker.



Facundo Sucatzky ended the contest for Minas with no points but did dish out 12 assists.



Meta La Salle face Regatas in Thursday’s (Day 3) first game.

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Quote:Liga Sudamericana – Argentina teams claim top spots in Group B, advance in Liga Sudamericana



SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Liga Sudamericana) - Quimsa and Regatas de Corrientes both won their games on Thursday in the Liga Sudamericana to claim the top two spots in Group B and advance to the Finals.



Hosts Quimsa (3-0) beat Minas Tenis Clube (1-2) in the second clash of the night, 96-90, to claim first place in the group.



Quimsa trailed 25-23 at the end of the opening quarter but took command over the next 10 minutes and went to half-time with a 48-39 advantage.



Brazilians Minas had to not only win the game to leave themselves, Quimsa and Regatas Corrientes with 2-1 records. They also had to prevail by eight to have a good enough points differential to finish in the top two places.



As it was, they failed to beat Quimsa, who led by as many as 18 in the third quarter before going to the final frame 70-58 on top.



Minas did well to chip away at the Quimsa advantage in the fourth quarter and managed to reduce the deficit to 86-83 with less than two minutes remaining on a three-ball from Soró Pinto but they got no closer.



The next two baskets were scored by Gabriel Mikulas and Julio Mazzaro as Quimsa kept their noses in front before claiming a 96-90 triumph.



Mikulas led all scorers with 22 points and Jonatan Treise contributed 19 for Quimsa.



For Minas, Murilo Becker poured in 20 points and Joe Shipp 18.



Defending Liga Sudamericana champions Regatas de Corrientes improved to 2-1 when they defeated Meta La Salle 93-60 in Thursday's opener with Durelle Brown pouring in 21 points and Damian Pineda 18.



Regatas out-rebounded the Bolivian outfit 49-30.



Meta La Salle ended Group B at 0-3 after blowout defeats in each game.



Quimsa and Regatas joined Flamengo of Río de Janeiro and Cucutá-Norte in the Finals, which will be played from March 10-12.

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Quote:Liga Sudamericana - Flamengo, Quimsa prevail in Liga Sudamericana Final Four openers



SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Liga Sudamericana) - Flamengo hammered Regatas de Corrientes and Quimsa held off a determined Cucuta-Norte in opening night action at the Liga Sudamericana Final Four.



In Tuesday’s first game, Brazilians Flamengo gained partial revenge against the team that beat them in last year's final by whipping Argentinians Regatas 92-72.



Brazil international Marcelinho Machado poured in 21 of his game-high 25 points after half-time for Flamengo, who only led 41-38 at the break.



They used a 17-6 run at the beginning of the third quarter as a launch-pad for a decisive victory.



Flamengo were 22 of 30 (73%) inside the arc and 12 of 35 (34%) beyond it, far superior to Regatas.



The Argentinians made 20 of 35 (57%) from two-point range but on their attempts from three-point land they sank just five of 29 (17%).



Also for Flamengo, Helio Vitor Da Costa Lima had 19 points and Duda Machado, the younger brother of Marcelinho who also represents Brazil, contributed 15.



Mariano Fierro led the way with 16 points for Regatas.



In the second game, Final Four hosts Quimsa enjoyed a great start by scoring the first 11 points of the game and then extended that to 26-10 by the end of the opening frame.



However, Cucuta-Norte stormed back in the second quarter, enjoying at one stage a 12-2 run, and went to the break trailing 44-39.



The lead changed hands in the third quarter, but Quimsa appeared to take command after a 9-2 at the start of the final period gave them a 77-67 advantage.



Cucuta-Norte refused to go away, however, and clawed the deficit back to 86-85 with less than a minute to go.



Quimsa secured a 93-85 win with Jonathan Treise and Julio Mazzaro each making important free throws down the stretch.



Mazzaro poured in 28 points and Gabriel Mikulas and Jonathan Treise had 19 apiece for Quimsa, while Jermaine Walker led Cucuta-Norte with 22.



On Wednesday evening, Cucuta-Norte take on Flamengo in the first game while Regatas face Quimsa in a battle of Argentinian clubs.



The winner of the Liga Sudamericana claims a spot in the FIBA Americas League to be played in 2009-10.

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Quote:Liga Sudamericana - Quimsa, Flamengo win and now meet for Liga Sudamericana crown



SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Liga Sudamericana) - Quimsa thrashed fellow Argentinians and defending champions Regatas Corrientes 104-72 to stay unbeaten in the Liga Sudamericana.



The Final Four hosts, who took command with a 15-3 run in the second quarter to lead 34-17 and never looked back, will now square off against last season's beaten finalists Flamengo for the title.



Brazilians Flamengo improved to 2-0 in the 2009 Final Four with a 115-82 demolition of Cucuta-Norte of Colombia in Wednesday's first game.



The side that wins the Liga Sudamericana clinches a spot in next season's FIBA Americas League.



Six Quimsa players reached double figures in points in their triumph, led by Jonatan Treise's 19.



Quimsa prevailed in all three of their group games which were also played in Santiago del Estero and are now 5-0 overall.



In the early game, Flamengo took control even earlier, opening up a 27-18 advantage by the end of the first quarter and extending that to 56-40 by half-time.



They stretched the lead to 84-59 with just 10 minutes remaining before cruising home with a 33-point triumph.



Three Brazil internationals topped the scoring for Flamengo.



Rafael "Baby" Araujo poured in a game-high 26 points while Duda Machado contributed 23 and his older brother Marcelinho 22.



Regatas, who beat Flamengo in last year's title series, meet Cucuta-Norte in Thursday's opener before Quimsa take on Flamengo for the championship.

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Quote:Liga Sudamericana - Flamengo capture title after Marcelinho master class



SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Liga Sudamericana) - Marcelinho turned in one of the best performances of his career on Thursday night to lead Flamengo to a thrilling victory over Quimsa in the Liga Sudamericana title game.



The Brazil international poured in 41 points - 30 in the first half alone - and the Rio de Janeiro outfit held on for a 98-96 triumph.



Marcelinho was voted MVP of the Liga Sudamericana.



Flamengo, beaten in last year's Finals by Regatas de Corrientes, claimed the title for the first time in club history and snapped a three-year winning streak for Argentina’s Liga Nacional.



Before this year's edition, Argentina clubs had captured nine out the 13 titles in the Liga Sudamericana, which first tipped off in 1996.



Vasco de Gama (1999, 2000) and Uberlandia (2005) were the only previous winners from Brazil.



The success clinches a spot in next season's FIBA Americas League for Flamengo. Cucuta-Norte defeated Regatas 92-86 in Thursday's other game to clinch third.



Marcelinho, who is expected to represent Brazil this summer at the FIBA Americas Championship – a qualifying tournament for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey - was magnificent.



In the first half alone, he made eight of 10 shots from behind the arc and drilled all six of his free throws as Flamengo led 49-48.



Quimsa had had the wind in their sails in the first quarter, reeling off 12 unanswered points to go in front 18-11.



Two free throws by Julio Mazzaro gave Quimsa their biggest lead at 30-18 with 50 seconds to go in the opening frame, but a technical foul helped Flamengo stop the rot.



Marcelinho went to the line and made two free throws and with Flamengo maintaining possession, he nailed a three-pointer to reduce the deficit to 30-23.



They scored again to trail by just five 10 minutes into the game.



Flamengo went back on top at 37-36 midway through the second quarter following a basket by Helio and ended up going to the break with a 49-48 lead.



Neither side was able to build a significant advantage for the first 12 minutes of the second half, with Flamengo opening the biggest at 70-65 inside the final minute of the third quarter.



Marcelinho's three-ball capped a 10-3 run that spanned the first 3:05 of the fourth quarter, though, as Flamengo led 82-71 and threatened to blow the game wide open.



Quimsa held firm.



Mazzaro scored, Vanderson made three free throws after being fouled while attempting a three-ball and Jonatan Treise struck from behind the arc to close the gap to 82-79 with 5:21 remaining.



Three-pointers by Marcelinho and Fernando Martins Alvim over the next 14 seconds increased the advantage back to nine, but Quimsa refused to give in.



A Vanderson three and Ramel Allen basket knotted the contest at 91-91 with 2:11 left.



Treise knocked down a shot from three-point land for a 94-92 Quimsa lead, only for the great Marcelinho to immediately answer with a trey for a 95-94 Flamengo advantage just 1:31 from the end.



The clash had one more tie at 96-96 after two Gabriel Mikulas free throws for Quimsa with 52 seconds left.



Treise fouled Duda, Marcelinho's younger brother, and he sank just one of two for a 97-96 lead with 41 seconds to go.



Mazzaro had a chance to put the hosts in front but missed.



Teammate Victor Hugo Cajal snared the offensive rebound but shortly after was called for an offensive foul against Duda, who made one of two again at the charity stripe.



Flamengo claimed the offensive board off the miss and time expired, leaving them with a thrilling victory.



In defeat, Vanderson, who was six of nine from behind the arc, had 25 points and Mazzaro contributed 20.



Helio and Duda poured in 15 apiece for Flamengo.

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Yet another title for a Brazilian team <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

Absolutely brilliant game by Marcelinho, Mão Santa anyone? <img src='http://www.talkbasket.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

Quote:BRA – Marcelinho beams with pride after claiming Liga Sudamericana



RIO DE JANEIRO (Liga Sudamericana) - Brazil international Marcelinho admits lifting the Liga Sudamericana trophy was one of his finest moments as a basketball player.



The Flamengo scoring machine was voted MVP of the event after pouring in 41 points in the team’s 98-96 triumph over hosts Quimsa of Argentina.



"We still don´t realize what we have achieved," said Marcelinho, who scored 30 points in the first half alone.



"This team is fantastic, it´s more than a team. We are more than teammates and we all deserve to have achieved this title.



“As of now, we are the best team in South America.”



Flamengo also beat Cucuta-Norte and Regatas de Corrientes in the Final Four.



“This success is the fruit of a job well done, with sacrifice, character, achievement and through team work,” Marcelinho said.



“We are playing when we have wages owed to us, hearing promise after promise, but everyone here shown character and professionalism.



“The best thing that could have happened to us has been this title, it´s a big reward for everyone."



Marcelinho is expected to play for Brazil this summer when they attempt to qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

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