The watchword for Flamengo is recovery. After the postponement of the match against Cabo Frio in the State Championship semifinals, coach Paulo Chupeta's team turns its attention to the 2009/2010 New Basketball Brazil (NBB). Starting at 20 p.m., the red-and-black team takes the court on Friday night, the 27th, to face São José. Fifth in the standings with six points (2-2), the Rubro-Negro, led by brothers Duda and Marcelinho Machado, is trying to recover in the championship after two losses (Joinville and Londrina), against an opponent in sixth place with a similar record.

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"It's going to be a tough game. São José has been doing well and is playing at home, where they always play in front of a full house. We have to put these two losses behind us. Every team goes through good and bad times throughout a competition, and we're going to look for a win to bounce back in the championship," said winger/guard Duda.

The match marks the return of power forward Jefferson William to the Flamengo team after a long injury layoff. The number 18 fractured his foot in training on the eve of the start of the South American League and has been out of action for over a month. Star Marcelinho, who was rested from Wednesday's State Championship match, also returns to action this Friday. The number 4 stated that any off-court issues and the team's fatigue will not be used as excuses for another possible defeat.

"We're trying to leave all our problems outside, focus only on the court, on the game, and honor the colors of Flamengo in the best way possible. We've been facing a tough sequence of matches, in the NBB and the State Championship, in addition to the South American tournaments, and the team has been very worn out in recent weeks, but we're going to São José to break this bad streak of results and get back to winning ways," commented Marcelinho, captain of the Brazilian National Team and elected 'Best Player' of the Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) 2009.