In the final stretch of preparation for the South American Basketball League, which will be held on November 7th, 8th, and 9th at Tijuca Tênis Clube, Flamengo is focused on winning its three semifinal matches. For coach José Neto, it's important to take the court with only one thought in mind: qualifying.

"This is a competition where we have to play every game as if it were a final to have a chance of fighting for the title, which is our goal. For this semifinal stage, this message has to be put into practice even more, since only the first-place team remains in the tournament. All our opponents here arrived on merit and will play with the same objective as us," Neto said.

FlaBasquete's debut in the second phase will be against Olímpia, on Tuesday (7), at 20:30 pm. "Olimpia from Paraguay has foreign players who, added to the experienced national athletes, arrived with three victories in three games in the first phase, and are very motivated", he analyzed.

On Wednesday, Mais Querido hosts the already well-known Pinheiros at 19 p.m. "Our second opponent, Pinheiros, has lost only one match in the competition, at the last second, having played the first phase with some absences. They're a team that plays with great physicality and intensity to be able to dominate the match," explained the coach.

The Pride of the Nation concludes its matches in Tijuca on Thursday at 20:30 pm against Estudiantes (AGR). "Estudiantes de Concórdia plays very well tactically, exploiting the inside game as an attacking reference and playing a very consistent defense. I believe we are ready to overcome these difficulties and continue in the competition," concluded José Neto.