With one round to spare, Flamengo qualified for the final of the Minas Brasília Under-17 Basketball Cup. The team won all four games played between Wednesday and Thursday (July 18.07 and July 19.07, respectively) at the Minas Brasília Tennis Club Gymnasium in Brasília, maintaining its 100% record in the competition. Flamengo is the tournament leader and will decide the title against the second-place team on Saturday (July 21.07).

On Wednesday (18.07), Flamengo beat Sport Recife, 59 x 27, and Minas, 58 x 54, after a great reaction in the last quarter (the team managed to reverse a 13-point advantage for the Minas Gerais team on the scoreboard). Alef Cesar was the top scorer in the first game, with 17 points, while Junio ​​Duval scored 14 points in the second game.

"Once again, we proved the strength of the group. Against Minas, we were 13 points behind, but we didn't give up. This serves to unite the group even more and make it mature. We know the quality of our opponents, but we are very focused and confident in bringing another title to Gávea," said coach Leonardo Bruno, who made a point of mentioning the influence of the red-and-black kit man Alfredo Santana, known as Besouro, on the group's unity. "Besouro doesn't just take care of the team's uniforms. He's a father figure to the boys and is always concerned with maintaining team unity," he praised.

This Thursday morning (July 19.07), the Rio de Janeiro team defeated Fluminense, 64 x 42. The red-blacks Lucas Martins and Gabriel Macelani were the top scorers of the match, with nine points each. In the afternoon, Flamengo beat Lance Livre, from Brasília, 73 x 40, maintaining their unbeaten run in the competition. Gabriel Jonathan was the top scorer with 16 points.

"In the first match, we faced a familiar opponent, one we played in the Carioca, and that made our planning easier. Plus, we defended very well," analyzed coach Leo Bruno, before adding: "In the afternoon, we faced the home team and they started better, scoring a lot of points. At halftime, I had to shake things up, and Flamengo came back playing well, and we managed to open up a good lead and win the match." 

On Friday (20.07), Rubro-negro, already qualified for the final, faces Sport Recife, at 15:15 pm.

Flamengo paid tribute to 19-year-old Brasília player David Henrique Conrado Meira, who was seriously injured after being hit by the backboard during training. The Flamengo fans paraded with a banner reading "Strength David, Flamengo is with you!" at the opening of the Copa Minas Brasília last Monday (16.07).