After a break for the end-of-year celebrations, Flamengo returns to the court this Thursday (January 05.01th) in the NBB (New Basketball Brazil). With their sights set on the undisputed lead in the competition, the red-and-black team faces Franca at 20:15 pm at the Tijuca Tênis Clube gymnasium. Flamengo is joint first in the overall standings, alongside Pinheiros, with eight wins in nine games (88,89% success rate). The São Paulo team, however, has the advantage in head-to-head records, the first tiebreaker.

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The last match before the break took place on December 17.12th, when Flamengo defeated Vila Velha 103-41. Despite the 18-day break in the competition, the team only had a week off. On December 26th, the team returned to training.

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"Training was very important to maintain the rhythm, even without games. We were improving in the competition and we can't lose that focus," commented coach Gonzalo Garcia.

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Flamengo has the best attack in the first round, averaging 92,33 points per game. They also lead the rankings in assists (averaging 20,22) and have the second-most efficient player in the tournament, Argentina's Kammerichs (16,56%).

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Although Franca, this Thursday's opponent, has performed below expectations so far (they are in 11th place with just three wins in 10 games), coach Gonzalo Garcia does not expect an easy game.

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"It's an opponent with a lot of tradition and the rivalry between Flamengo and Franca is always great in any match," he warned.