Flamengo's Olympic sports team took another important step this Thursday (April 16.04th). The NBA announced this morning that the Pride of the Nation will play against the Orlando Magic as part of the American team's preseason in Brazil. The game will take place on October 17th at the Arena da Barra, in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, as part of the NBA Global Games 2015.

The game will be a rematch of the 2014 confrontation when Flamengo traveled to the United States and participated in the NBA preseason, facing, in addition to the Magic, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Phoenix Suns. On that occasion, the FlaBasquete team had the massive support of the Flamengo fans living in the United States and, even without coming away with a positive result, played an excellent game against the American team.

José Neto, coach of the Flamengo team, is very pleased with the news about the friendly match. "This is another achievement for Flamengo basketball. Just as we were the first Brazilian team to play official NBA preseason games in the USA, Flamengo will also be the first Brazilian team to play an official Global Games match in Brazil. It's another fact that the club is marked in the history of Brazilian basketball. A reward for the work we have been doing in recent years. We are very happy about this achievement," he commented.

The Pride of the Nation boasts two athletes with NBA experience. Besides Marquinhos, who played for the New Orleans Hornets (2006/2007), Flamengo also has the Argentinian Walter Herrmann, who wore the jerseys of the Charlotte Bobcats (2006/2007) and Detroit Pistons (2007/2009). The Flamengo fans and basketball lovers are already invited to a wonderful celebration on October 17th at the Arena da Barra. Let's show the strength of the Nation once again.