RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil) - One thing that Flamengo can certainly count on is their vast amounts of experience within a squad that knows all about picking up silverware.

The club are perennial winners of trophies in their native Brazil and have a rich history dating back to its founding year in 1919. Flamengo have great memories when it comes to the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, too, as they were crowned champions in 2014 - 31 years on from the last South American winner of the competition.

Veteran leader Carlos Olivinha was part of the title-winning squad from eight years ago when Flamengo overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in front of 14,500 fans in Rio for an overall 156-146 aggregate victory.

"I remember very well," recalls Olivinha. "Our fans packed our stadium and began chanting from the very start until the end of the game when they stormed the court to celebrate with us.

"It was beautiful to live those moments next to Flamengo's nation. For us, it was a historic accomplishment since it was only the second Brazilian team to win the title and no doubt it was a proud moment for everyone who took part."

“PLAYING FOR FLAMENGO IS A VERY BIG HONOR. I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HISTORY WITH THE SACRED MANTLE."

Olivinha started a long-standing professional career as a teenager with the club back in 2003 for the first of two spells in red and black. After departing six years later, the veteran returned in 2012 and has been an ever-present ever since, enjoying multiple championship successes.

The 38-year-old encapsulates the heart of the team with a special bond with the supporters and is still finding a way to maintain the hunger and desire to keep playing an important role both on and off the court.

"Playing for Flamengo is a very big honor," he says. "I have a very beautiful history with the Sacred Mantle and it's an honor to defend Flamengo's colors for so long. The fans treat me with enormous respect and love.

"This type of thing motivates me even more to keep working hard every day for more titles and to continue writing my name in the club's history books.

"I play for a club that, year after year, puts together a team to reach the finals, at the very least, in every championship. It always has a high-quality group and I know that, being 38, I have to be physically well to display my basketball to help Flamengo reach all its goals every season. All of these things keep driving me, motivating me to keep contributing in the court.

"The key to prolonging my career is the seriousness and the professionalism that I acquired through the years. I take a lot of care of myself, and besides that, I'm playing for the team that I love. I'm from Rio, my family is from the city and that has a great influence."

Olivinha is not alone in having accrued years of experience within the game. JP Batista turned 40 years of age in October, Vitor Faverani is playing in Brazil for the first time having spent the majority of his playing career in Spain, while Rafa Mineiro most recently represented the national team during the FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers.

The 33-year-old Mineiro is also in a second spell with the club having first joined in 2015 before returning in 2018; winning the domestic title in each of the first seasons. And, Mineiro believes that winning habit could be a vital factor ahead of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

"Our team is very experienced; we are used to finals and I think that's very important even though this is a very different tournament. Everyone has already played many Championships, important ones and I hope we can be prepared," Mineiro said.

"I feel very comfortable in my role in the team. I feel like I fit in very well and I hope to keep helping the group, especially during such an important competition. I'm playing in more than one position and that makes me very happy because it shows that I can be much more helpful to the group, so I hope to be prepared to help however I can."

Olivinha adds: "I think our main strength is the unity of the team. Everyone knows their role, no one wants to be bigger than the other. We've shown that we are a very united and focused team with a huge potential, so I believe these factors could be crucial in this competition."

Flamengo secured a return to the competition after winning the Basketball Champions League Americas in 2021 as they came out on top in the 12-team competition without losing a game. They defeated compatriots Sao Paulo in the Semi-Finals before edging out Nicaraguan side Real Esteli to take the title.

And, Mineiro acknowledges that they will not only be playing for themselves in the Intercontinental Cup, but also representing Brazil and all of the Americas as they aim to keep pushing forward.

"I think that Brazil's basketball has been growing a lot over the last few years. We got to a Champions League final, we were BCLA champions the next year, so I feel we should keep growing," he said.

"Brazilian basketball has been improving, so we have to show that in the Intercontinental Cup for sure. We will fight to do our best and represent our country well, as well as the Americas. We're representing the whole continent so we'll give our best to get the title."

Flamengo's last appearance in the competition came three years ago in 2019 when they were beaten finalists after losing out to AEK Athens on home soil. This time around the event heads to Africa for the first time, but can they go a step further once again?

Mineiro certainly believes so.

"It was a different moment for the group [in 2019] as we were at the beginning of our work and I feel like now the team is much more prepared. And of course we want to win. It's our goal to always take one step ahead, we're focused, so why not? We want to be the champions.

"I'm definitely looking forward to it. I'm very happy to play against teams from other countries, other continents, it's a different kind of basketball and it gives even more value to the Championship - it's a bigger incentive to the players and a bigger difficulty, of course."

Olivinha concludes: "It's always nice to play against high quality teams, especially when the trophy is on the line. It will be a major challenge for our team and I have no doubt that we will be prepared for it. We will play with a lot of grit and work very hard to achieve our main goal that we have this season."

The Sacred Mantle have been there and done it before at the ICC and that could be a key factor when it comes to the action on the court in Cairo next month.

FIBA