Flamengo arrived in the city of São Carlos, in the interior of São Paulo, in the early afternoon of this Wednesday (20) for final adjustments before the match against Bauru, for the New Basketball Brazil. The Rubro-Negro trained at the Milton Olaio Filho gym under the command of coach José Neto and the owners of the Mais Querido's paint, JP Batista and Olivinha, spoke about the confrontation this Thursday (21). 

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"We know this is one of the most important trips of the year, starting against Bauru, the current champion. It's going to be a huge challenge because it's a team that was formed to fight for the same goals as us. Our team is focused, down to earth, and extremely confident in the work we've been doing these past few weeks to continue the good form we're currently experiencing," says center JP, who has been one of Flamengo's biggest standouts at the start of the 2017/18 NBB season. 

Mr. Double-Double, power forward Olivinha also spoke about his expectations for the match.

"It's going to be a very difficult match against a team that's fighting with us for the top of the table. If we can get a win now, we'll differentiate our team from the rest, because we'll have only one loss in the NBB. That would leave us at the top of the table, which is one of our goals. We need all the concentration possible, because we're facing a very dangerous opponent, who is in good form, but I'm confident and believe that Flamengo has a good chance of leaving here with a win," concludes the number 16 from Gávea. 

Bauru and Flamengo meet at 20 p.m. this Thursday, and the match will be broadcast on the National Basketball League's official Facebook page. Flamengo will be providing live coverage on Twitter.