Flamengo's under-15 basketball team became state champions on Monday (02.12 December) after competing for the title against Tijuca Tênis Clube. The opponent, having finished first in the qualifying round, had the advantage of playing the first and third games of the finals at home. Flamengo won the first game (70-56), lost the second (51-61) at the Gávea stadium, and won the third and decisive game, on the Tijuca Tênis Clube court, 63-58 in overtime.

The team's coach, Igor Melleti, was pleased with his players' performance and was thrilled with the victory, which was exciting.

"Yesterday was a victory of the red-and-black spirit. Right at the end, it was hard-fought and gritty. There were 32 seconds left and we were trailing by five points. We scored, scored, recovered the ball, and tied it with a three-pointer from Tiago. Tijuca still had the ball, we stole it again, but Bernardo missed the layup, getting fouled, and we missed both free throws with the clock at zero. In two minutes of overtime, we were up 8-0, but then we had a minute of blackout, everything went wrong, and the guys (Tijuca) closed the gap to two points. With 10 seconds left, we were three points ahead, we stole the ball, made the layup, and managed to win the game by five points. I'm very grateful to my players for their grit and resilience," praised the coach.

The under-14 team faces Tijuca Tênis Clube in the State finals for the category, on the 18th, in Tijuca, on the 20th, at the Gávea headquarters and on the 21st, in Tijuca. The under-17 team faces Fluminense in the finals this Wednesday (04.12) and on the 9th, at the Gávea headquarters; the series is already 1-0 for Flu. The under-19 boys play the finals of the State Youth Championship against Macaé, on the 11th, at the Gávea headquarters, on the 13th in Macaé, and if a third match is needed, the location and time are still undecided.