Flamengo players called up for the Brazilian 3x3 squad
The squad will compete in the Youth Olympic Games in October
By Helena Petry - inFour athletes from the red-black basketball team were called up to the Brazilian 3x3 team in the Under-18 category. Aieser Batista Pereira, Igor Gabriel Souza, Matheus da Silva Brito and Matheus Souza Alves will be presented this Thursday (05) at the Air Force Sports Commission (CDA), in Rio de Janeiro. The red-blacks are part of the group that will compete in the Youth Olympic Games in October, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Until the competition, the athletes will be split between training with the club and the national team, held at the CDA, the Army Physical Education School (ESEFEX) in Urca, and the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca. There will be five training sessions with the selected athletes. The fourth, held in September, will determine the four players who will travel to the Olympics.
One of the highlights of the FlaBasquete Under-17 team, Igor Souza commented on the call-up and his debut on the national team.
"I was very happy because the technical level was very high, with excellent athletes, and out of 30, I was among the eight selected. I also feel very proud, because I had never been selected for a national team, the only one until then being a Brazilian Under-14 school team," said the number 10.
He said it took "a lot of grit, willpower, and determination" to secure the position. The work he did at Mais Querido was also cited as a key factor.
"Flamengo has one of the best structures in Brazil and an extremely qualified multidisciplinary team that provides me with all the support I need to perform excellently, both on and off the court," he said.
Along with Matheus Brito and Aieser Pereira, Igor was named to the eighth-man squad. Matheus Alves is among the four substitutes.
The Flamengo Regatas basketball teams receive funding from their sponsors – Thinkseg, TIM, AmBev, Rede D'or, IRB Brasil RE, CSN, Brasil Plural, and EY – via the Federal Incentive Law/Ministry of Sports (IR) and the State Incentive Law/Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat of Sports, Recreation, and Youth (Seelje), as well as support from the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC) through the decentralization of funds from the Pelé Law. The Flamengo Guardian Angel Project, a personal tax transfer, benefits all Olympic sports of the club.