Flamengo's last appearance on the court was on April 03rd, when the Red-Blacks concluded the qualifying round of this season's New Basketball Brazil (NBB) tournament with a flourish. In the away win over Basquete Cearense, one of the team's standouts was captain Marcelinho, who topped the scoring charts with 20 points, 18 of which were three-pointers. In that game, the point guard surpassed 500 points in this season's NBB, reaching 514 in the competition, but there are still more personal milestones to be achieved soon. The Flamengo fan favorite is 18 points shy of 8 for Flamengo, the team he has played for since 2007, and is seven games shy of reaching 350 for the club. With an average of 22 points per game, Marcelinho has a great chance of reaching 8 points in the match next Saturday (26.04), at 21:30 pm, against Bauru, the first match of the best-of-five series of the NBB 6 quarterfinals. When he achieves his feats, the athlete will be honored with commemorative shirts.

A leader in the group for field goal shooting—whether free throws, two-pointers, or three-pointers—Marcelo Machado is the team's leading scorer in this season's national championship. The team's second-highest scorer, point guard Laprovittola, has 417 points so far in NBB 6: almost 100 points fewer than the veteran. With 7.982 points for Flamengo, the player believes that concentration is the key to success.

"It's not just the extra training time I spend on the court, but the focus on that training. Just as important as staying late is training focused on game situations, and that makes a difference in the match. Everyone on the coaching staff helps me, as well as my teammates. As I often say, in team sports, no one achieves anything alone. So, for me to practice a long series of shots, there's always someone catching the ball, as well as in the play-offs, we do that a lot," said Marcelinho.

The athlete reveals that his instinct for shooting has been instilled in him since he was a child, after receiving support from his uncle, precisely after a match in which he didn't score a single goal. "It's been a characteristic of mine since I was a kid. It's even funny, because in my first game here at Flamengo, I remember my uncle Peixoto was the coach of the junior team, and I didn't score a single goal. At the time, I was 10 years old and all my friends had scored, so I was a little upset, being a kid. I remember he (his uncle) wrote me a letter, telling me to stay calm and stay cool, and that I would score a goal in the next game and the points would come naturally. Since then, I've had this characteristic on every team I've played for: being a very offensive player. I always try to score or draw the defense to provide the assist," he said.

Of the 343 matches played for Flamengo, Marcelinho can't pick just one. But his favorites have one thing in common: the Sixth Player. "There are many, but the title wins at home, in front of the fans, are all very memorable. They're priceless. The Liga das Américas (2014) and the NBB 1 (2008/2009) were spectacular. One basket I made that sticks in my memory, perhaps the basket against Franca, in the NBB playoffs, there in Franca, when I hit the shot, we won the game and advanced to the final (in 2010, forward Marcelinho hit a three-pointer, just before the clock expired, which gave the red-and-black team the victory)," he said.

At 39 years old, which he turned 12 on April 31th, Marcelinho maintains a high average of XNUMX minutes per match. "My body type is very important, but the fact that I've always dedicated myself to my fitness helps me a lot. My body retains that memory. I already have a history of always being in good shape, being one of the most physically fit on the team. I was a little unsure about my return, what it would be like, but I'm feeling great," he explained.

The "comeback" Marcelinho refers to refers to his return to the court after the most serious injury of his career. In 2012, a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, right in Flamengo's NBB 5 debut against Vila Velha, kept him out for the entire previous season. Despite the difficult recovery period, at the age of 37, the point guard returned in excellent form.

"Family is always the biggest help. They're the foundation of everything and where we draw strength when we need it. But I also had a very good structure here at Flamengo, both medically and physically, as well as my friends. My teammates always gave me a lot of support; they saw my struggle to return; it wasn't an easy comeback. For some, it's easier than for others, and because of my advanced age, my recovery was quite complicated, but I always had confidence, as with everything I do in my life. I knew it would work out, and I'm happy to continue playing," he said.

Now a national idol, Marcelinho reveals that, as a child, all he thought about was defending the Sacred Mantle. "When I started playing basketball, I only thought about playing for Flamengo. I was a Flamengo fan, going with my father to Maracanã, and I started playing here. But then, my career took a different path, and I had to be a professional. I left here as a young man out of necessity. My father was a director at Fluminense, and I ended up leaving to be closer to him. But I was happy that one thing led to another, and today I can combine business with pleasure. I'm a Flamengo professional and part of a team that is writing the club's history. For me, it's an honor, a privilege, and a great pride to play in this jersey," he concluded.

Get your tickets here to cheer for Marcelinho to reach 8 thousand points from the stands of Tijuca Tênis Clube, next Saturday (26.04).