The countdown to the fifth state basketball championship begins this Wednesday. Flamengo, winner of the last four editions of the State Championship, hosts Cabo Frio, their opponent in last year's Carioca final, in the first game of the best-of-three semifinal series of the 2009 edition of the competition, tonight at the Hélio Maurício Gymnasium in Gávea. Starting at 18 p.m., coach Paulo Chupeta's team will be aiming for their first victory in the decisive stage of the tournament.

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The red-and-black team will take to the court with a depleted squad. Star player Marcelinho Machado was rested by the coaching staff for Friday's crucial away game against São José, part of the fifth round of the Novo Basquete Brasil. Besides him, power forward Jefferson and center Alírio, both injured, will also miss the match. Therefore, Flamengo's starting lineup is expected to consist of Hélio, Dedé, Duda, Teichmann, and Coloneze.

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It's worth noting that the Gávea team is the current undefeated champion of the competition and, this year, also didn't lose a single game in the qualifying round. They won seven of their seven matches. Flamengo's last loss in a State Basketball Championship game was in November 2007, when the Cruzmaltinos won 74-73 in a match played at the Caio Martins Gymnasium in Niterói.