Gustavo de Conti analyzes the victory and explains Kevin Crescenzi's entry into the starting five
Coach comments on the team's performance and the character of his players, who fight for every ball
By Flamengo Communication - in
Two days separated Flamengo from Thursday's loss to Pinheiros and Saturday's 1-72 victory over Corinthians at Arena Carioca 64 in the NBB. For coach Gustavo De Conti, the red-and-black attitude hasn't changed, but the team performed significantly better in the derby today, which earned them the victory in the end. The coach himself knows that the "Mais Querido" won't win them all, but the fight and determination will never be lacking.
"In every game, we show character and strength. Sometimes, it's not enough. We're not unbeatable. Pinheiros performed better than us in the last game. But there's no shortage of fight. And it's not just one player. It's all of them. They're always fighting hard for the ball," said Gustavo, who analyzed the match and pointed out Flamengo's strengths, which are winning, but not necessarily because of their attack.
"We started well, but then our performance dropped off a bit. It's important that we're showing that we're good defensively. We're winning because of our defense, not our offense. That's a much more difficult problem to solve. We're managing to do it even when we're losing or when the score is close. We've had a good defense this season."
In the victory over Corinthians, Gustavo started the match with Kevin Crescenzi in the starting lineup, as a technical decision. After the game, the coach explained the reason for the choice and assured that he had great confidence in his number eight.
"Kevin came in to defend Fuller in the first few minutes. But look, he started the season, got injured, and didn't have much room to play in the easier games. Now he's having to come in for the tougher ones. He's a new guy, he comes from a different culture, but little by little he's coming in and I'm sure that in the playoffs and beyond he'll be a decisive guy for us," Gustavo concluded.
FlaBasquete is off this Sunday and resumes activities on Monday, in São Paulo, where they will train for the match against Bauru, on Tuesday (06) and Franca (08). On Saturday (11), the team returns to play at home, at Arena Carioca, against Vasco da Gama.
The basketball teams of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo receive funding from their sponsors – thinkseg, AmBev, Rede D'or, IRB Brasil RE, CSN, Brasil Plural, and EY – via the Federal Incentive Law/Ministry of Sports (IR) and the State Incentive Law/Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat of Sports, Recreation, and Youth (Seelje), in addition to support from the Brazilian Club Committee (CBC) resulting from the decentralization of resources generated by the Pelé Law. The Anjo da Guarda Rubro-Negro Project, a personal tax transfer, benefits all Olympic sports of the Most Beloved.