It was tough, but Flamengo managed to beat Mogi das Cruzes 71-64 on Monday night (7). With Arena Carioca 1 pushing Mais Querido from start to finish, the red-black team had a great performance, turned things around and remains alive in the semifinal series. After the duel, Arthur Pecos spoke to the press and praised Fla's performance, in addition to praising the strength of the Nation.

"It's spirit. We won this game we needed, because our backs were against the wall. We showed our strength, especially here at the Arena. Nothing's decided; we have to go out there in the next game and make it even better. Only then can we tie the game and bring the streak back. We've already had a change of spirit, and we took advantage of the fans, who made all the difference," said the number 23.

Singing loudly and making the Arena shake, the Nation put on another show and was a key player in the Game 3 victory. "I've never seen anything like this. This is a first for me, and I'm privileged to enjoy it and thank them. They can be sure we'll do our best in the next game to bring them here and fill this Arena even more," Pecos exclaimed.

Now attention turns to Game 4, which will be played this Saturday (12), at 14 pm, at the Hugo Ramos Gymnasium. It's win-win to bring the series back to Rio de Janeiro. "Playoffs are like that. We ended up losing to their game, but we studied each other and know what the other team does. Now we'll try not to get into that again and impose our game," concluded Arthur Pecos.