Chapecoense, the grief-stricken Brazilian soccer club turned upside down by a plane crash in November, continued its resurrection by claiming the second stage of Santa Catarina's state championship Saturday. Chapecoense was decimated by tragedy when a plane carrying its players, technical commission and a number of journalists for the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional crashed en route to Medellin two days before the match was due to take place, killing 71 people on board. Of the traveling squad, only three members survived — Neto, Alan Ruschel and Jackson Follmann — leaving Chapecoense heartbroken and struggling to field a team.

But with the help of loaned players, Chapecoense has tried to rebuild and the Brazilians continued their comeback with their first title since the tragic plane crash. Reinaldo, one of the players on loan from Sao Paulo, and Tulio de Melo scored as Chapecoense defeated Joinville 2-0 to be crowned champions of the local tournament, which is named after club president Sandro Pallaoro, who was among the victims of the crash last year. Chapecoense, which finished second to Avai in the first half of the Catarinense but is unbeaten this time around after eight matches, secured the second stage of the competition with a game to spare as they look to take out the Santa Catarina Championship outright. They can win the Campeonato Catarinense outright when they take on Avai in a two-legged final in May.