Buoyed by the thrilling victory over Limeira, in extra time, in the last round, Thursday (29.03), Flamengo returns to the court this Saturday (31.03). In the penultimate round of the NBB classification phase, the red-black team faces Araraquara, at 19:15 pm, at the Tijuca Tênis Clube gym.

With 19 wins in 26 games (73,1% success rate), Flamengo is currently fourth in the overall standings, behind Pinheiros and São José, leaders and runners-up, respectively, with 20 wins in 25 matches (80%), and Brasília, in third place, with 20 wins in 26 games (76,9%). The Rio de Janeiro team's goal of finishing in the top four and securing home-court advantage in the quarterfinal playoffs has already been achieved, as fifth-place Uberlândia can no longer overtake Flamengo in terms of wins.

After Araraquara, the red-black team ends its participation in the qualifying phase against Tijuca, on April 05.04th, at 19 pm, at the opponent's gym.

"Against Limeira, in the last round, the team didn't get off to a good start, but we showed grit and concentration to turn the game around and win in extra time. We have to go into Araraquara with that same spirit and try to control the game from the start to avoid any surprises," said coach Gonzalo Garcia.

The match against Limeira was the first that forward/center Guilherme Teichmann played after undergoing surgery to remove a testicular tumor in December 2011. With 12 points and a great performance in overtime, the player was a key player in the red-black victory.

"More than just a good performance, I was very happy with the victory and I hope to continue helping the team in the upcoming games," said Teichmann.