Baby agrees to return and signs for two seasons
The board also renews the contracts of winger Duda and point guard Fred
By Media Relations - in
One of the standout players in last year's two-time national and South American Basketball League championships, center Baby is finally back in Gávea. At 29, the player, who played in this year's National League for Paulistano, terminated his contract with the São Paulo club last week and agreed to return to Flamengo this Thursday. In addition to Baby, who signed a two-year contract, the club also renewed the contracts of forward Duda and point guard Fred.
Despite stints with the Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, and Minnesota Timberwolves, all in the NBA, as well as European basketball, Baby has never hidden the fact that he experienced the happiest moment of his career defending the colors of Flamengo. In fact, the club's new signing assures that he would never have left for him.
"I'm very happy with this return. In fact, I wanted to come back from the first day I left here, which would never have happened if I had. But that's in the past and now I just want to think about next season. I'm really looking forward to wearing the Flamengo shirt again and meeting the red-and-black fans again," said the center, who praised the club's board for keeping the youth team that was the Brazilian runner-up.
"I had already decided that I would return to the club because of the identification I had created with Flamengo and the strength of the current squad. But of course, the board's promise to further strengthen and form an even more competitive team in the fight for all the season's titles increased my desire to be here even more," he added.
Coach Paulo Chupeta was also thrilled with the return of the 2009 Brazilian champion center. According to the coach, in addition to maintaining the Brazilian runner-up base, the player's return fills a gap that was evident during the finals.
"He's an excellent reinforcement. Fortunately, everything worked out and he's confirmed his return to Gávea. We've had several injury problems with our centers this season, and with Baby's return, we'll once again have a key player in the paint," explained the red-and-black coach.
Technical Data:
Full name: Rafael Paulo de Lara Araújo
Date of birth: August 12, 1980 (age 29), Curitiba (PR), Brazil
Position: Pivot
Height: 2,12 m
Weight: 130 kg
Previous clubs: Corinthians-Pitt; Bauru (SP); São José do Rio Preto (SP); Ypiranga (SC); Paulistano; Arizona Western (USA); Brigham Young University (USA); Toronto Raptors (NBA); Utah Jazz (NBA); Spartak St. Petersburg (Russia); Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA) and Flamengo
Titles: Champion of the National League (2009) and South American League (2009)
New on Flamengo's official website: check out our image galleries
Despite stints with the Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, and Minnesota Timberwolves, all in the NBA, as well as European basketball, Baby has never hidden the fact that he experienced the happiest moment of his career defending the colors of Flamengo. In fact, the club's new signing assures that he would never have left for him.
"I'm very happy with this return. In fact, I wanted to come back from the first day I left here, which would never have happened if I had. But that's in the past and now I just want to think about next season. I'm really looking forward to wearing the Flamengo shirt again and meeting the red-and-black fans again," said the center, who praised the club's board for keeping the youth team that was the Brazilian runner-up.
"I had already decided that I would return to the club because of the identification I had created with Flamengo and the strength of the current squad. But of course, the board's promise to further strengthen and form an even more competitive team in the fight for all the season's titles increased my desire to be here even more," he added.
Coach Paulo Chupeta was also thrilled with the return of the 2009 Brazilian champion center. According to the coach, in addition to maintaining the Brazilian runner-up base, the player's return fills a gap that was evident during the finals.
"He's an excellent reinforcement. Fortunately, everything worked out and he's confirmed his return to Gávea. We've had several injury problems with our centers this season, and with Baby's return, we'll once again have a key player in the paint," explained the red-and-black coach.
Technical Data:
Full name: Rafael Paulo de Lara Araújo
Date of birth: August 12, 1980 (age 29), Curitiba (PR), Brazil
Position: Pivot
Height: 2,12 m
Weight: 130 kg
Previous clubs: Corinthians-Pitt; Bauru (SP); São José do Rio Preto (SP); Ypiranga (SC); Paulistano; Arizona Western (USA); Brigham Young University (USA); Toronto Raptors (NBA); Utah Jazz (NBA); Spartak St. Petersburg (Russia); Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA) and Flamengo
Titles: Champion of the National League (2009) and South American League (2009)
New on Flamengo's official website: check out our image galleries