Flamengo, the current leader of the Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) season, could return to the court this Thursday (04/04) at 20 pm at the Antônio Prado Junior Gymnasium, without one of its key players. Point guard Vitor Benite is still recovering from a left ankle sprain and is not confirmed for the match against Paulistano, valid for the 35th round of the competition.  

"Vitor has improved a lot, but his participation remains in doubt for the next game against Paulistano. We will only have a concrete decision moments before the match," declared coach José Neto.

Regarding the achievement of the Rubro-Negra team's first objective, which is to finish the qualifying phase at the top of the table, thus guaranteeing home court advantage in decisive matches in the Playoffs, the coach states that the squad "will continue playing to win, as we still need to improve a lot as a team to achieve this first part of the planning for the 2012/2013 season." 

Furthermore, Neto expects a great game ahead and praises some of the opponent's characteristics.

"Paulistano is a team that plays very well as a home team, using an intense and tactical game. Flamengo will be prepared to face these difficulties imposed by their opponent to seek another victory in the NBB."

Flamengo remains top of the competition with an 87,1% success rate in 31 games (27 wins/4 losses) and has 58 points, 2 more than the second-place team. In the qualifying phase, the Mais Querido still plays "at home" against Tijuca and Suzano, next week.