A last-minute replacement for forward Guilherme Teichmann, who was ruled out with a grade-one left leg strain, Vitor Boccardo will represent Flamengo in the New Basketball Brazil All-Star Game dunk contest, which will be held this Saturday at 18 p.m. in Uberlândia. One of the youngest players on the Flamengo squad, at 25, Vitor admits he was caught off guard but assures he's ready to represent the two-time Brazilian champions.
    
"Actually, I only found out I was going to participate in the tournament this Thursday, so I don't really know who my opponents will be yet. But none of that will intimidate me. I'm sure I can do well in Uberlândia and represent Flamengo well. But it will be great to participate in the competition and put on a great show for the crowd," said Vitor Boccardo.

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Despite his young age, this won't be the Flamengo power forward's first experience in this type of competition. When he was 16 and studying at Admiral Farragut Academy in the United States, Vitor placed second in the Florida high school dunk contest.

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"It's been so long that I don't even remember the dunks I did in the tournament. But I know I did well, I qualified for the final and I almost won," recalled Vitor, who hasn't yet prepared his repertoire for Sunday.

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"Since I was caught off guard, I honestly haven't thought of anything special yet. I'm just going to improvise. At first, I'm going to do the dunks I'm used to, which I know I won't miss, but if I advance to the next round, I'll certainly think of something different, more spectacular," revealed the red-and-black player.