Brazil internationals Marcelo Machado and Marquinhos turned on the style for Flamengo on Friday night in a 113-81 rout of Aguada at the FIBA Americas League Final Four.
The former drilled six of his 10 shots from long range and finished with 29 points, while the latter poured in 23 points as Flamengo rolled to victory and set up an all-Brazil Final on Saturday with Pinheiros.
The defending champions Pinheiros won Friday night’s first Semi-Final against Halcones Xalapa, 85-72, after getting 27 points from the MVP of last year’s Final Four, Shamell Stallworth.
While Flamengo rolled to a big win, Pinheiros had a real fight on their hands.
Claudio Mortari’s side only led 44-43 at half-time but stretched the advantage to 63-55 by the end of the third quarter.
Their lead never dipped below allow points the rest of the way.
“This match started balanced and took a while to get into the rhythm of the game,” Stallworth said.
“But the most important thing was to get this win and continue to seek to win this title for an unprecedented second championship in a row.”
The results mean that a Brazil team will capture the title for a third time.
Uniceub of Brasilia won in 2008-09 and Pinheiros prevailed last year.
Pinheiros and Flamengo will square off in Saturday’s second game, with Halcones taking on Aguada before that in a battle for third.
