For this season, the technical committee of the red-black basketball team chose to begin preparation with several friendly matches in addition to the usual training sessions. And on the night of this Friday (16), the Pride of the Nation faces its first opponent of 2016/2017: Bahia Blanca, from Argentina, at the Coliseo Arequipa gymnasium, for the I International Tournament, in Peru.
The tournament will be an opportunity for new faces and younger athletes to showcase their work to the red-black commander, who was named Coach of the Year after winning four consecutive NBB CAIXA titles.
"It's still very early; I've had very little training with them so far. But it will be a challenging season, in which we will have a team with a mix of young and experienced players. And I strongly believe in the competence and ability of these more experienced players to enhance the younger players, who have already shown their worth. I'm motivated. We'll have a tough start; some players are injured, but on the other hand, we'll have the opportunity to put the younger players to the test. It's not just the style of play, it's the mentality of playing for Flamengo. The pressure of chasing victories and titles. The younger players are learning. It will be an interesting challenge," said Neto, who knows his team will once again be highly targeted by opponents.
"Once we've won the championship four times in a row (NBB), we're the team to beat. Playing against Flamengo isn't just a game. And a win isn't just a win. It's a win against a team that has the same number of titles as Flamengo," he concluded.
After tonight's match, FlaBasquete faces Elite Sports, from Peru, on Saturday (17), and Rio Natura Monbus, from Spain, on Sunday (18). The delegation returns to Brazil on Monday (20), debuts in Carioca two days later against Macaé, in Gávea, and at the end of September goes to Fortaleza for another friendly quadrangular. The debut in NBB9 will be on the day November 5, against Bauru.
The Clube de Regatas do Flamengo adult basketball team relies on direct funding from its sponsor Estácio, in addition to investments from Tim via the State Sports Incentive Law/State Secretariat for Sports, Leisure and Youth (ICMS).
"We chose to start our preparations differently this year. We always start by training and then playing. Now we're going to train less and play more. The Carioca Championship is starting soon, where we're aiming for our 12th consecutive title, and this series of friendlies will help us get into the swing of things and prepare the team," said coach José Neto.
"It's still very early; I've had very little training with them so far. But it will be a challenging season, in which we will have a team with a mix of young and experienced players. And I strongly believe in the competence and ability of these more experienced players to enhance the younger players, who have already shown their worth. I'm motivated. We'll have a tough start; some players are injured, but on the other hand, we'll have the opportunity to put the younger players to the test. It's not just the style of play, it's the mentality of playing for Flamengo. The pressure of chasing victories and titles. The younger players are learning. It will be an interesting challenge," said Neto, who knows his team will once again be highly targeted by opponents.
"Once we've won the championship four times in a row (NBB), we're the team to beat. Playing against Flamengo isn't just a game. And a win isn't just a win. It's a win against a team that has the same number of titles as Flamengo," he concluded.
After tonight's match, FlaBasquete faces Elite Sports, from Peru, on Saturday (17), and Rio Natura Monbus, from Spain, on Sunday (18). The delegation returns to Brazil on Monday (20), debuts in Carioca two days later against Macaé, in Gávea, and at the end of September goes to Fortaleza for another friendly quadrangular. The debut in NBB9 will be on the day November 5, against Bauru.
The Clube de Regatas do Flamengo adult basketball team relies on direct funding from its sponsor Estácio, in addition to investments from Tim via the State Sports Incentive Law/State Secretariat for Sports, Leisure and Youth (ICMS).