Pacifier: "I hope to bring the LDB championship back to Gávea"
Coach sees his team as very strong when it is complete and with the support of the Nation
By Communication - Official Club Website - in
Flamengo's under-22 team finished the qualifying phase of the Basketball Development League (LBD) in first place, with 72 points, 24 wins, and only four losses. Now, attention turns to the playoffs. The games will be held from December 4th to 26th at the Gávea headquarters. The team's standouts are power forward Cristiano Felício, a player regularly called up to the Brazilian National Team, who has accumulated three double-doubles in the last four games; shooting guard Diego Marques, the team's leading scorer with 30 points and named the best player of the first stage of the LDB; and point guard Gegê, already called up to the Brazilian National Youth Team and having an excellent season.
The team's coach, Paulo Chupeta, was pleasantly surprised by the team's performance in the league.
"It was a big surprise because we have a very young group. We only had four athletes in the category; the rest were from the U-17 and U-19 teams. I was fortunate that they incorporated their maturity during the qualifying round. We entered the first phase of the league as the sixth-strongest and finished in first place. With that, the team started to gain momentum, we started to believe in the work and potential of the athletes, and we reached this position," said the coach.
Chupeta believes that the strength of the team, well-trained, and the fact that they are playing at home, with the support of the fans, make the expectations for the playoffs great.
"Our group is a group where we'll face three traditional São Paulo teams: Pinheiros, São José, and Bauru. But playing at home, with the support of the fans and the full squad, with Gegê, Chupeta, Diego, Douglas, and Felício, we're certainly a very strong team. So much so that all five of these players are playing for Flamengo's adult team. Expectations are the best possible; I hope to bring this second championship to Gávea," he said.
The preparation of athletes playing on the adult team will have to wait until December 21st, when they will be released from the NBB. The other athletes, who play in the youth team, begin their preparation earlier.
"The kids who aren't in the Adult category start training in ten days. We gave them a week off because they're in the state playoffs, and there's still a game at the end of this week. After that, they start training daily, especially defense. If they defend well, on our court, which we know, it's unlikely the team will be beaten," he concluded.
In addition to Flamengo, competing in the final phase of the competition are: Pinheiros, São José and Bauru, making up group B with Mais Querido, as well as Minas, Basquete Cearense, Ginástico and Brasília, which make up group C.
Tickets for the debut of Novo Basquete Brasil are now on sale
Next Saturday (November 09.11th), at 10 am, at the HSBC Arena, Flamengo will take the court to begin defending its Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) title. It will be the champion's return to the stage where it was crowned and secured the trophy for the fifth edition of the competition last June. And the first round already pits the Mais Querido against Brasília, in a repeat of the clash that has already taken place in two NBB finals.
Tickets can now be purchased both online (Ingresso Rápido website) and at physical sales and exchange points. Click here to find out all the information regarding ticket sales.
The team's coach, Paulo Chupeta, was pleasantly surprised by the team's performance in the league.
"It was a big surprise because we have a very young group. We only had four athletes in the category; the rest were from the U-17 and U-19 teams. I was fortunate that they incorporated their maturity during the qualifying round. We entered the first phase of the league as the sixth-strongest and finished in first place. With that, the team started to gain momentum, we started to believe in the work and potential of the athletes, and we reached this position," said the coach.
Chupeta believes that the strength of the team, well-trained, and the fact that they are playing at home, with the support of the fans, make the expectations for the playoffs great.
"Our group is a group where we'll face three traditional São Paulo teams: Pinheiros, São José, and Bauru. But playing at home, with the support of the fans and the full squad, with Gegê, Chupeta, Diego, Douglas, and Felício, we're certainly a very strong team. So much so that all five of these players are playing for Flamengo's adult team. Expectations are the best possible; I hope to bring this second championship to Gávea," he said.
The preparation of athletes playing on the adult team will have to wait until December 21st, when they will be released from the NBB. The other athletes, who play in the youth team, begin their preparation earlier.
"The kids who aren't in the Adult category start training in ten days. We gave them a week off because they're in the state playoffs, and there's still a game at the end of this week. After that, they start training daily, especially defense. If they defend well, on our court, which we know, it's unlikely the team will be beaten," he concluded.
In addition to Flamengo, competing in the final phase of the competition are: Pinheiros, São José and Bauru, making up group B with Mais Querido, as well as Minas, Basquete Cearense, Ginástico and Brasília, which make up group C.
Tickets for the debut of Novo Basquete Brasil are now on sale
Next Saturday (November 09.11th), at 10 am, at the HSBC Arena, Flamengo will take the court to begin defending its Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) title. It will be the champion's return to the stage where it was crowned and secured the trophy for the fifth edition of the competition last June. And the first round already pits the Mais Querido against Brasília, in a repeat of the clash that has already taken place in two NBB finals.
Tickets can now be purchased both online (Ingresso Rápido website) and at physical sales and exchange points. Click here to find out all the information regarding ticket sales.