During the fifth state basketball championship game, Alírio's celebration was doubled. Sidelined since the South American League tournament in Argentina in late October, the center returned to play in an official Flamengo game after spending about 35 days recovering from an adductor muscle strain. "In the game against Defensor, midway through the game, I felt my adductor and returned to training last weekend. Thank God it worked out, and I played well in those eight or nine minutes I played," said Alírio, who scored four points, in an interview with Flamengo's official website.

For the 6'2" player, what he's missing most right now is match fitness. "I'm doing a lot of physical training, but the lack of match fitness is what will make things a bit difficult for me in the Liga de las Américas. The team has already played about 10 games in this period, and I'm still out."

Even though he's not in the best condition, Alírio believes he can help the team. "Coloneze was overloaded and with Jefferson and I back, we can rotate [in substitutions during the game]".

The player Alírio arrived at Flamengo for the 2007 State Championship. A product of Minas' youth academy, his last club was Universo. After a successful National Championship with Brasília, where he won the championship, he arrived at Flamengo to strengthen his play in the paint. In his first championship with the red-and-black team, he scored 137 points and helped the club win its third Rio de Janeiro state championship. In 2008, he played in 42 games, scoring 349 points, and participated in the team's campaigns to win the National Championship and Rio de Janeiro state championship. He is a three-time consecutive national champion: 2007 with Brasília and 2008 and 2009 with Flamengo.