Flamengo Wins the 2014 FIBA Intercontinental Cup

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, the reigning Brazilian NBB and Liga de las Americas champions, have won the 2014 FIBA Intercontinental Cup. They faced the reigning Turkish Airlines Euroleague champions, Maccabi Electra Tel-Aviv in the finals series and prevailed 90-77 in Game 2 for a 10-point aggregate win. Maccabi Tel-Aviv managed to secure Game 1 with a score of 69-66.

This is the first Intercontinental Cup win for Flamengo. The last time a Brazilian team raised the gold cup above their heads in celebration was way back in 1979 when Esporte Clube Sirio won it in Sau Paulo. Maccabi has won this prestigious event in the past, back in 1980 when the friendly tournament was held in Sarajevo. The Intercontinental Cup was played annually from the late 60s to the late 80s. After 1987 the event was discontinued for almost a decade and resumed briefly in 1996. It was re-launched again by FIBA and the Euroleague in 2013.

The loss for Maccabi Tel-Aviv was wake-up call that things are different now that former coach David Blatt has joined the NBA to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers. Coach Goodes Guy was able to coax out a solid effort from Jeremy Pargo, who did his best to keep his team in the game with 28 points. Unfortunately, Pargo’s teammates could not lend the import much support in the fourth quarter when Flamengo went on a 12-o run early in the fourth quarter to pull ahead by 13 points. From there Flamengo simply protected their advantage until the final horn sounded. Marquez Haynes was the only other significant contributor for Maccabi Tel-Aviv with 15 points. Nicolas Laprovittola led Flamengo with 24 points and was a key factor in establishing a 46-36 halftime lead for his team. His teammate Jerome Meyinsse chimed in with 22 points of his own.