Eleven athletes will be used by the team in international competition

Lancenet\ STAR OF THE FUTURE\

After winning its third Rio de Janeiro basketball championship, Flamengo faces another important challenge in the sport: the 1st Men's Basketball League of the Americas. The tournament begins next Tuesday in Belo Horizonte.

Coach Paulo Chupeta decided, during training this weekend, the team that will participate in this first phase of the tournament, where Fla will face Minas, Boca Juniors-ARG and Defensor-URU.

The squad will consist of centers Coloneze, Alírio, Amiel, and Maicon, forwards Marcelinho, Duda, Wagner, and Fernando Mineiro, and point guards Hélio, Fred, and Marcellus. Other members of the Rio de Janeiro champion group, who were part of the club's youth academy, center Colin, forwards Wanderson and Rafael, and point guards João Ayres and Igor, will remain in Rio de Janeiro.

For pivot Coloneze, Flamengo's third highest scorer in 2007, the international tournament will be a good experience, and Flamengo's goal is to be champion.

"Our team was built to win titles. The Liga das Américas will be a very interesting and very difficult competition. We have the potential to win, and we're going to pursue this achievement," he declared.

Check out the schedule of games for Flamengo's group, Group C, which is based in the city of Belo Horizonte, in the competition:

December 18th\ Pitágoras/Minas x Flamengo/Petrobras, at 12pm\ Defensor Sporting x Boca Juniors, at 20:22pm\

December 19th\ Defensor Sporting x Pitágoras/Minas, at 12pm\ Boca Juniors x Flamengo/Petrobras, at 20:22pm\

December 20th\ Pitágoras/Minas x Boca Juniors, at 12pm\ Flamengo/Petrobras x Defensor Sporting, at 20:22pm\