ACB

When I am asked about the best moments in my career as a coach, one of the first that comes to mind is the return to the ACB with CAI Zaragoza. I will always remember that Friday, 9th May 2008. More than a decade of suffering was left behind, a decade of seeing how some of the most loyal fans in the world could only watch the best teams in Spain on TV.

Thinking about it more calmly, the fact of being in the silver category of Spanish basketball is a very succulent reward, but a historic club like CAI could not be content with that. It was a difficult season. The only objective, like in the previous 12 years, was to return to the elite.

We were regular throughout the season. We were always leaders, which gave us the morale to think that this year could be the one. After several matches toying with mathematical promotion, we finally got there with a victory over CB L’Hospitalet by 91 to 64. Fortunately, in this match, which I remember perfectly, we managed to break the scoreboard before the interval, so you can imagine the party in the pavilion during the second half.

What can I say about the fans! Spectacular, great, magnificent… There aren’t enough adjectives to describe all those people who accompanied us on the return to the ACB. We obtained the highest average attendance in Europe in spite of the fact that their team was playing in the Gold ELB. The Príncipe Felipe Pavilion and the city of Zaragoza showed what it is to love basketball. They will always be in my heart and I will be happy for all the good things that happen to them.

One more year we have been able to carry out the Jr. NBA Gigantes Camp with a huge success of participation. As in the previous edition, the San Jose School welcomed us in its magnificent facilities and during the first week of July we could enjoy a fantastic NBA basketball environment. More than 180 players from 5/6 to 17 years, have been able to work and train the fundamentals with top level coaches from all parts of the world. Improvement of technical foundations, individual and collective tactics work, 3×3 championships, shooting competitions, …… and of course the parallel activities of skills competitions, play-Statiton championships, various evenings and games pool. In addition we could enjoy the visits of Javier Imbroda, Alex Suarez, and the great guest star from the NBA Glen Rice, who delighted with the smallest of the campus.

Yesterday we had the visit in our training of the IES Carmen Laffon, of San José de la Rinconada (Seville) headed by his “teacher” (friend and companion of the illustrious 90-95) José María Cano, we could chat with them before the beginning to explain, briefly, what the training was going to consist of and at the end of the session we could share with them their feelings and the things that most caught their attention. Our physical trainer, Arnau Moreno, explained the loads of the week, how we distributed and prepared them and the boys were able to convey their concerns and doubts about the training planning.

I hope you enjoyed the visit and that it has helped you to understand something else, how a professional team trains and that you return to San Pablo in our weekend games.

Good luck for your course!

Greetings.