Carlos Alexandre do Nascimento, or simply Olivinha, is one of the most efficient players in the Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB). The power forward inherited the nickname from his older brother, called Olívia because of his thinness similar to Popeye's girlfriend in the cartoons, but his strength in the paint is impressive. The player is the all-time leading rebounder in NBB history, having reached the mark of 1.500 rebounds in April 2013: today, the number is already at 1.842.

Olivinha averages nine rebounds per game in his career, but the numbers don't stop there: he also boasts an average of 16 points per game, surpassing 3 points in 2013, and currently ranks fifth among the league's top scorers with 3.398 points. The Flamengo player is only behind stars Marcelinho Machado (Flamengo), Shammel (Limeira), Alex (Brasília), and Murilo (Minas), all forwards. In double-doubles, he also leads the ranking of all players who have played in the NBB, with 84, 20 ahead of the second-placed player.

"These numbers are the result of hard work that I do every day. The quality of my rebounds is more due to my characteristics as a player, having a lot of determination and fighting spirit to believe in every shot. Regarding scoring, I do a lot of specific shooting drills, whether it's free throws, two-pointers, or three-pointers. As a power forward, I have to have good footwork to be accurate on the court. The Flamengo coaching staff helps me a lot; besides Neto, Rodrigo (Carlos da Silva, assistant coach) gives me specific training and helps the team's centers a lot," said Olivinha. 

The player explains that he started as a wing player, in the so-called three position in basketball, with coach Paulo Chupeta, who is now in charge of the club's youth divisions. But it was playing as a power forward that Olvinha made it to the Brazilian national team.

"I started playing in the three (wing) position, even at Flamengo, with Chupeta, but I always had an ease playing as a power forward, and it was playing in that position that I achieved these numbers. At the time, it was Chupeta who put me to play in the four (power forward), and when I was at Pinheiros, Mortari (the coach of the São Paulo team to this day) also put me in that position. That's when I made it to the Brazilian national team. These coaches helped me a lot, I can only thank them," said the player.

On the day of the return to training, this Thursday (April 10.04th), Olivinha spoke about what he expects for the NBB playoffs, which he considers a championship of its own.

"We have very high expectations, we know we have potential. They say we're favorites, but there's still a lot to happen in the competition. We were on a break that we earned after the marathon of games and we returned to training today (Thursday), in the gym in the morning and we'll train with the ball later. We're going to work hard because now it's a new championship. We did our part in the qualifying phase and now we have to take advantage of our lead to try to reach the final and maybe bring another title to Gávea," he said.