Corinthians manager sees a positive scenario and believes in the continuity of basketball in 2026
- By Henrique Pereira / Central do Timão Editorial
Corinthians' elimination to Pinheiros in the semi-finals of the Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) ended the team's campaign in the 2025/26 season and brought discussions about the future of the sport within the club to the surface again. Despite the financial uncertainties, Gustavo Freitas, known as Montanha and responsible for the basketball department, guaranteed that the sport remains in the board's plans, although it needs to adapt to a new budgetary reality.
In participation in the Café Belgrado podcast, the director revealed that recent conversations with members of the administration, advisors and supporters of the sport indicated that there is no intention to extinguish the project.
Photo: Beto Miller / Corinthians
"We had meetings with the president, with the advisors, with enthusiasts of the sport. After the conversations, the president never spoke about ending basketball, mainly due to the moment we were living in. He watched two games against Pinheiros, was in the gym, saw everything that was happening and made it very clear that he does not think about ending basketball. I understand the board's side due to Corinthians' delicate financial situation. I cannot specify values now, but I believe and have full confidence that basketball will continue. The only situation is that the We need to define a budget, a guideline, to be able to start work again", said Montanha.
The recent campaign was Corinthians' best since the resumption of basketball activities, which took place in 2017. Before falling to Pinheiros, the team eliminated Unifacisa and Minas, reaching an NBB semifinal for the first time in this new cycle.
For Montanha, the performance achieved is a direct consequence of the continuity of the work carried out in recent seasons, especially the maintenance of athletes and members of the technical committee. "A lot of the merit of what happened this season was for keeping a good part of the cast, the coaching staff, a sequence of work. I think that this talk of putting an end to basketball has passed, it was a situation way back when. We have to start thinking bigger and how to improve what we did this season. As a professional and responsible for basketball, I always want to go further, and I believe we can. I am fully aware of what we can achieve", said Montanha.
However, the prospect of reduced investment raises concerns regarding the assembly of next season's squad. Although some players have contracts in force and protection clauses, the permanence of a large part of the group still depends on the financial definitions that will be taken by the club in the coming weeks.
The manager admitted that the possibility of losing athletes to competitors is a real scenario and that the delay in defining the plan could harm renewal negotiations.
"This is a concern that keeps me up at night, because the possibility of athletes leaving and signing with other clubs is very real. On the other hand, they all showed interest in staying here and want to know about Corinthians first to understand what will happen. When they call me or we exchange messages, I realize that many want to stay, regardless of the financial issue. I am happy and I am very grateful for the trust that everyone has in me and the agents who have this confidence in keeping this dialogue open to understand, because I am very clear too. I'm not going to lie or promise things I can't keep", said Montanha.
The director also highlighted that the time to find a solution is increasingly short, as many athletes need to define their next professional and family steps.
"I understand that they have families, young children and need to make decisions for their careers. We can't delay, because the athlete has to change state, change family, foreigners changing country or going to another city, these are big things that they need to resolve in their private lives. I have already received information about proposals, offers and surveys involving our players, and I have made it clear that we will do the best we can. Today, my priority would be to maintain a large part of the squad and a large part of the coaching staff, because that makes a big difference next season. We take the lead to maintain a squad that is already used to it, already knows how it works. That's our hope, but the deadline is running out, I can't ask them to wait any longer and we'll resolve it," he added.
Despite the end of participation in the NBB, the men's team will still return to the courts this season to compete in the Campeonato Paulista, scheduled to start in August.
The discussion about the future of basketball gained momentum at the end of last year, when president Osmar Stabile announced the discontinuation of women's teams and youth categories at the end of their respective calendars. At the time, the justification presented was the need to contain expenses given the high debt accumulated by the club.
Montanha believes that the potential of the Corinthians brand should be enough to attract more robust investments into the sport. According to him, the project has a consolidated structure and the capacity to offer relevant returns to potential commercial partners.
"Here at Corinthians, we work as one thing. There is no distinction, it's all Corinthians. This brings a very positive side, which is the strength of the brand, the size of the club and the visibility that this provides. I cannot accept the idea that Corinthians is not capable of attracting greater sponsorship, which really sustains basketball and puts it at the level we believe it can reach", said Montanha.
In addition, the director highlighted that the club already has a solid foundation to grow sportingly in the coming years. "The hardest we've ever had. The Wlamir Marques Gymnasium is one of the best in the country, we have structure, quality and we managed to bring fans back closer to basketball. Now, we need to take the next step. I want to compete in finals, win titles and compete in international tournaments at the highest level. Therefore, I want the market to see Corinthians basketball as a giant product, capable of delivering an audience, engagement and return. And to take the next step, we need partners who believe in this as much as we do," he added.
The budget forecast for 2026 points to a significant reduction in resources allocated to land sports, a group that includes basketball and futsal. The projection is that total expenses will fall from R$26 million to approximately R$17 million.
Even so, the Meu Timão portal recently reported a possible negotiation with a new sponsor for land sports and also for women's football. According to the information released, the proposal under analysis would exceed the value initially stipulated by the club by five times.
Without revealing specific numbers, Montanha explained that the sport's budget involves much more than just athletes' salaries. "I prefer not to reveal specific values, but we are talking about an annual budget that covers all operating expenses, not just paying athletes. In fact, the players' payroll represents less than half of that amount. When we talk about budget, we are including logistics, travel, accommodation, structure, technical committee, employees, training categories and all the operations necessary to keep the project running. The budget needed to support a competitive basketball team is much smaller than many people imagine. More than a sponsor that simply covers expenses, what we are looking for is a partner that sees value in the product, the fans, the brand exposure and the growth potential of Corinthians basketball. The idea is to build a relationship of mutual benefit, in which both the company and the club are strengthened", he concluded.
While women's basketball activities ended after competing in the 2025 Campeonato Paulista, in which they finished runner-up, the men's team will continue to operate at least until the end of the 2026 state season.
The post Corinthians manager sees positive scenario and believes in the continuity of basketball in 2026 first appeared on Central do Timão.
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Source: Timao Central