This Sunday morning marked the continuation of the first group stage of the 2017 Brazilian Interclub Championship (LDB) in Gávea. Host city of the competition, the Red-Blacks defeated São José by a final score of 68-56, overcoming the painful opening defeat the previous day against Pinheiros. The standout players in the Red-Blacks' triumph were Vitor Amorim (wing) and Thiago (power forward). Coach Rodrigo Carlos evaluates the match.

"I think the team overcame a lot of pressure because we left yesterday feeling really hurt after losing a 50-point game. We all know the problems we had from Friday's game (against Botafogo in the State Championship), but that doesn't justify the way we played. We could have played and gotten tired at the end. The problem yesterday was that our team never displayed the attitude of a team that wanted to win. Today they overcame themselves, playing much more consciously. I showed them some things we were failing to do, and they started to understand. During the match, they made it work, and we managed in the end, even against a very difficult opponent, to keep our heads high and stay ahead, which is the most important thing," says Rodrigo.

During the four quarters, the player who had the most court time (32'51") was winger Vitor Amorim, who has been playing between the LDB and the NBB for the third consecutive season. 

"The group came together, pulled together to be here and achieve a significant victory. I managed to help the team with 15 points, but despite that, what we always hope for is to win. Being able to help the team achieve this victory is my main objective," declared the number 14, who was the top scorer in the match. 

The first quarter ended tied at 15, but the Red-Blacks lost the second quarter 32-35 and the third 47-48. In the final ten minutes, Rodrigo's team met the coach's demands from the bench and rallied, finishing ahead 68-56. Number 6 Gabriel Assunção recorded a double-double (10 points and 13 rebounds). Another player who handled the pressure of playing at home against a traditional opponent in Brazilian basketball was power forward Thiago, who tallied 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist. 

Regarding the opponent for Mais Querido's next clash in the competition, the Minas Tênis Clube team next Tuesday (24), Rodrigo comments that it will be a difficult encounter. 

"We've already played against Minas Gerais in the under-21s, and they're coming with the same team. It's a tough game, too; they're a very athletic team that plays very openly. They want the same thing we do. We'll try to repeat the good performance we had against them in our last match, knowing they already know us. So we'll try to neutralize their strengths: they have a good playmaker and good fullbacks, and we need to be very alert to overcome them," the coach concluded.