The Clube de Regatas do Flamengo adult basketball team returned to training last Monday (5) to begin pre-season work. The red-blacks were available to the CUIDAR team, where they underwent several tests and exams with the institutional partners of the multidisciplinary center, in addition to the first physical and tactical training sessions on the court, led by coach Gustavo De Conti and his technical staff.

On Friday morning, still as part of the preparation for the season, the athletes were at the Brazilian Olympic Committee's (COB) Olympic Laboratory for isokinetic strength assessment and jump tests on the force platform, accompanied by the club's physiotherapists, Ricardo Machado and Matheus Albuquerque, and physical trainer Vinícius Lima.

"Flamengo's athletes underwent an isokinetic neuromuscular test, which aims to assess neuromuscular function, in this case, in the knee joint bilaterally. So, we're assessing both right- and left-side neuromuscular function and how the muscles behave at different speeds. We can assess both maximum strength at one speed and endurance—the ability to resist force at another speed. We can assess power, force production, and imbalance on one side or the other under these two conditions, as well as how the muscles produce force under these two conditions. This is very important, especially for high-performance athletes, in the preseason and during monitoring throughout the season, to assess training progress," explains COB physiologist Raul Freire.

In addition to the isokinetic test, the athletes also performed jump tests on a force platform. Glauber Pereira, a biomechanic at the Brazilian Olympic Committee, explains.

"We perform two types of jumps with the athletes: the Squat Jump and the Countermovement Jump. These jumps are related to the game and the athletes' power production capacity. We evaluate jump height, force production, and power output, and provide them to the coaches so they can assess the athlete's performance at the beginning of the season. Based on this data, they can develop training programs, microcycles, and macrocycles, to optimize each player's performance. So, we always maintain the same protocol to provide a comparison between the beginning, middle, and end of the season, in order to provide the best possible relationship for the coach."

The latest reinforcement announced for the season, power forward Léo Demétrio arrived in Rio de Janeiro this afternoon and has also already reported to CUIDAR for tests.

Meanwhile, in Goiânia, Jhonatan Luz and Marquinhos, along with fitness coach Bruno Nicolaci, have been participating in training sessions for the Basketball World Cup over the past two weeks. Jhonatan returns to Rio de Janeiro to join the Flamengo squad, while Marquinhos and Bruno will remain with the Brazilian national team in the coming days. American Zach Graham will report to Flamengo by the end of the first half of August. 

Click here to see the photo gallery of FlaBasquete performing tests at the COB Olympic Laboratory. 

The basketball teams of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo receive funding from their sponsors – BRB, TIM, AmBev, Rede D'or, IRB Brasil RE, CSN, Brasil Plural, and EY – via the Federal Incentive Law/Ministry of Sports (IR) and the State Incentive Law/Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat of Sports, Recreation, and Youth (Seelje), in addition to support from the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC) resulting from the decentralization of resources generated by the Pelé Law. The Anjo da Guarda Rubro-Negro Project, a personal tax transfer, benefits all Olympic sports of the Most Beloved.