The Orgulho da Nação athletes returned to their preparation work for the Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) playoffs this Thursday (09.04). After a brief break, the team led by José Neto resumed activities in Gávea after securing qualification with a third-place finish in the first qualifying phase of the national championship.

Flamengo will now have about two weeks to prepare for the knockout stage, while awaiting the winner of the best-of-five series between Paulistano and São José dos Campos. In the first meeting between the two teams, São José prevailed away from home in a closely contested match.

 

During the qualifying round, Flamengo defeated both potential quarterfinal opponents, both at home and away. Even so, coach José Neto knows he won't have an easy time in his next challenge. "We started training with the playoffs in mind, where we'll have a few days to prepare the team for this decisive stage. Although we're in a good spot in the championship, with 14 wins in 15 games, we know we can improve our game, and that's our focus. Our opponent will be the winner of the match between Paulistano and São José. These are two teams that have also grown significantly in the championship, and regardless of who wins, I'm sure they'll be highly motivated to face us. I believe we'll be prepared to face this challenge and seek a spot in the semifinal playoffs," he concluded.