After beating Caxias do Sul once again on the 27th, at Tijuca Tênis Clube, and establishing themselves at the top of the Novo Basquete Brasil table, the FlaBasquete team deservedly had a short end-of-year break. After a 15-day period without games, José Neto's team returned to the Hélio Maurício gymnasium, in Gávea, on the afternoon of this Friday (6) to resume training on the court and prepare for the next NBB challenge. 

Flamengo faces Minas on the 12th and, immediately afterwards, has the classic against Brasília on the 14th. José Neto, coach of the four-time NBB champion team, commented on how this period has been for the team.

"During this break, we gave them a few days off, which was a structured break. The athletes had structured training during this period, in which they only had two days off, and on the other days they had structured training. So they just didn't train together with the coaching staff, but they received guidance to keep them active, since our season requires this type of monitoring," he explained. 

In addition to Minas Gerais and Brasília, Flamengo will also face Mogi in São Paulo, completing a sequence of three away games. The coach of the Pride of the Nation analyzed the upcoming challenges in the competition.

"This series of games is tough. Not only because we're playing away, but also because of the opponents we have. They are opponents who are in a good moment in the championship, practically direct rivals, such as Brasília and Mogi. Minas is also very motivated because it has a new leadership, since it just changed coaches. It will be a big challenge for us to have three away games against tough opponents," said the coach.

The FlaBasquete team will travel to Belo Horizonte next Wednesday (11). The game against Minas will be at Arena Minas Tênis Clube and will be broadcast on SporTV. Currently, Flamengo is the leader of the qualifying phase and Marquinhos and Olivinha are, so far, the highlights of the season. The number 11 has the highest average points per game and the Flamengo center has the highest average rebounds per game.

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).