Spain will face the United States and Slovenia in Malaga on the occasion of the centenary of the FEB

Garbajosa: "We want it to be the most important year in Spanish basketball"

MADRID, 18 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB), Jorge Garbajosa, and the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía, Arturo Bernal, presented this Wednesday at the FEB headquarters in Madrid the calendar of events that will be They will live in Andalusia in the coming months as part of the celebration of the Federation's centenary and will include matches against the United States, Slovenia, Canada and Argentina.

"We want it to be the most important year for Spanish basketball. In addition, we are lucky and honored to lead this Federation in the most important year of our future. We want to do something that attracts not only the great fans of world basketball, but also many more people who come to our sport through such iconic figures as Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic or Facundo Campazzo", said the president of the FEB at the event.

Between March and September, Andalusia will host six major events of the FEB centenary, sporting, institutional and social. The program will be opened by the FIBA ​​Europe Board, which will be held in Seville, and will be closed in September by the third edition of the Spanish Basketball Hall of Fame. Between one event and another, Córdoba, Málaga and Granada will also be the scene of great events.

Especially important will be the three major sporting events, as many tournaments with the absolute male and female teams as main protagonists. The first will be held in June in Córdoba with Spain, Turkey and Belgium, on the women's road to the Eurobasket that will be held that same month in Israel and Slovenia.

The men's turn will come in August, on their preparation route for the World Cup. Málaga will experience the great Centenary Tournament, in which the European champion will face two of the most powerful teams in the world: the United States and its cast of NBA stars, and Luka Doncic's Slovenia. And just a few days later, in Granada, another triangular with Argentina and Canada as guests.

In this sense, Garbajosa thanked the Junta de Andalucía for its commitment to host these events and described it as an "ideal" partner. "For the Spanish Federation, the Junta de Andalucía is the ideal partner for which we want it to be the most important year for the future of Spanish basketball. We want to take advantage of the celebration of our centenary so that more basketball is seen and talked about and that it increases thus the practice of our sport", he expressed.

"After many months of close work with the Board and its Ministry of Culture and Sports led by Arturo Bernal, and with the collaboration of many people, we have forged a magnificent working group. The collaboration of the Board with the FEB is not due to sudden attraction, we have been collaborating for some time now, although the depth and scope of our collaboration has been increasing and consolidating over time," he added.

For his part, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Junta de Andalucía, Arturo Bernal, valued the confidence of the FEB and reiterated his "pride". "We are proud to celebrate its anniversary with the FEB. It is a society based on friendship, trust and mutual recognition of talent and the successes achieved that make up the FEB and the Andalusian Government, two very good traveling companions", he pointed out. he.

Lastly, Garbajosa highlighted the players' ambition to be in the national team and was very happy about the return of Ricky Rubio after his long injury. "The ambition of the players to be here and the affection they show for this team is very great. Yesterday I saw Usman (Garuba) and he practically gushed about being here, not only himself but biting other teammates to get a team back together group that last year already became historic," he said.

"I am very happy for the team, for his team, but above all for Ricky, because he has handled it tremendously well with that mental capacity that he has. He has been out for practically a year and will come back as he has come back, from the first day showing his class Well, the truth is that it is the best possible news. I have spoken with him and I see him happy and calm", he concluded.