The early elimination in the group stage of the Liga das Américas, for the third consecutive year, left coach Paulo Chupeta visibly upset. Having led Flamengo to five state championships, two national championships, and the South American title, the coach only failed to win this competition out of all the others he competed in with the team. This factor further increased his frustration with the result.

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Another factor that further contributed to the Red-and-Blacks' disappointment was the team that secured a spot in the next round. The team that qualified was Espartanos de Margarita, the home team, who were considered the weakest team before the ball went up for the group stage.

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"Unfortunately, we were already eliminated after Halcones' victory over Capitanes de Arecibo. We had a good first quarter, but then our performance dropped off significantly. We tried to fight back at the end, but we couldn't win. I'm sad, because it was an important tournament for Flamengo," lamented Chupeta.

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However, despite still being upset with the result, the coach believes the team cannot afford to give up or lose focus on its fight for its third Brazilian championship. The team returns to Rio this Thursday, has a vacation at the end of the year, and returns to work on January 4th. On the 10th, they host Paulistano at HSBC Arena for the Novo Basquete Brasil.

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"Now we have to move on and think about the NBB next year," concluded the coach.