MIAMI (United States) - The Brazilian basketball confederation (CBB) announced that the senior men’s team will be led by Gustavo De Conti. The team will have a Brazilian coach at the helm for the first time in 13 years.

The last native coach to lead the national team was Lula Ferreira, who left in 2008 for the arrival of Spaniard Moncho Monsalve. Then came Argentine Rubén Magnano and most recently Croatian Aleksander Petrovic.

De Conti, who had already been part of the Brazilian coaching staff between 2012 and 2016, will continue to also be in charge of the Flamengo team in the local league, so he will carry out both roles.

“I thank President Guy Peixoto for the invitation and Flamengo for allowing me to stay at the club and also coach the national team. It is a dream come true and a challenge in my career. I have worked to achieve this goal since I started as a basketball coach 24 years ago, in the lower categories in Ypiranga and then in Paulistano. It will not be an easy road, but I am sure that we can be in all competitions and fight for good things. I take this opportunity to ask for unity in the basketball community, as we will need everyone to achieve this goal," said De Conti in a statement.

The Rio de Janeiro native has been very successful locally in recent years. He holds three national titles with Paulistano (2017-18) and Flamengo (2018-19 and 2020-21). He also holds a FIBA ​​Basketball Champions League Americas title with Flamengo. In addition, he was elected the best coach of Brazil in 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2021.

De Conti will make his debut in November at the FIBA ​​World Cup 2023 Americas Qualifiers. Next year he will have a great challenge in front of the local fans at the FIBA ​​AmeriCup 2022 with Brazil as host.

FIBA