After the good feelings from Friday, Barça closed a demanding week of three away games with a defeat on the court of UCAM Murcia (100-94). The local team, a very uncomfortable rival since Sito Alonso has been the coach, proposed a very tough game. The Culer players, many of whom were making their debut at the Palacio de Deportes, could not breathe at any moment. Juani Marcos added 8 points and 5 assists with a scent of revenge.

While Madrid has lost the three games they have played in the Euroleague, Aleksander Sekulic's Barça has accumulated two victories. The Slovenian coach struck gold with the blaugrana bench on Besiktas' court (82-95). The substitute players of the Catalan team combined to score 47 points. The Turkish side squandered their chances with a very poor shot selection (29/76).

The coach who left Barça because he was suffering a lot defeated the blue and garnet team. Xavi Pascual's Dubai Basketball overcame the Culer side (94-87) and confirmed the predictions that place them among the contenders for the final four. Kevin Punter's good performance (25 points) did not find the complicity of his teammates, who lost concentration during a tragic second quarter. "I wasn't thinking about anything personal, but it was important to secure our second win," said the Catalan coach.

iLerna Lleida pulled off the big surprise at the Roig Arena, where they defeated Valencia Basket for the first time (100-105). The Lleida team overcame a 9-point deficit to spoil Nikola Mirotic's debut. Gerard Encuentra, the youngest coach in the Liga Endesa (he will turn 37 in January), moved his pieces with great intelligence. James Batemon and Darius McGhee combined for 44 points on the court of the reigning champion.

Born in Guédiawaye (Senegal), Eli Ndiaye's chances of ending up becoming a professional basketball player were slim. And yet, if it weren't for an injury, he would have made his NBA debut. "I started playing basketball when I was in a boarding school. When I returned home I kept playing and then Oumar Sow appeared, who proposed that I go to Europe. I didn't think twice. I had trials with Baskonia, but it didn't work out, and then Real Madrid appeared," explains Ndiaye to ARA, who at that time was only 13 years old.“When I started playing basketball my family struggled with it, because they wanted me to prioritize my studies, but when they understood that it is something I am passionate about they understood that it could also help me be more focused on my studies. My family has always helped me”, explains the Asisa Joventut player, who starts the Liga Endesa on Sunday on the court of Rio Breogan (12 p.m., TV3 and DAZN).“Before, basketball was less accessible in Senegal, but now there are many people betting on training and that is noticeable. There are many academies and more and more players are emerging. Basketball has opened up a great space in my country and people enjoy it more. Having players like Brancou Badio helps it become a very popular sport,” says Ndiaye with an enthusiasm that is contagious. It is hard to see him speak without smiling.

Of all the possible debuts, Barça chose the most exciting one. The blue and garnet team overcame a 15-point deficit against Anadolu Efes (89-82). A handful of good decisions by Kevin Punter and Justin Robinson in the final stretch decided a game in which the Culer team overcame the difference in free throws.Aleksander Sekulic made his debut on the local bench at the Palau with the absences of Yoan Makoundou, Tosan Evbuomwan and Josh Nebo, three key interior players in his schemes. The coach adapted his game plan and, incidentally, prepared a defensive plan to prevent Mike James, whom the club said they did not want when he had already agreed to his signing, from repeating a scenario similar to that of Nico Laprovittola.The club took advantage of the EuroLeague debut to celebrate the section's centenary with a handful of well-intentioned initiatives. Despite not having the presence of president Joan Laporta, the VIP box brought together many historical legends.

The cradle of basketball wrote one of the most emotional pages of its history with Asisa Joventut's victory against Barça in the Endesa Supercup final (101-87). Nico Laprovittola was the hero of a night that will be told from generation to generation. The Argentine, whom the blue and garnet club did not want to renew the previous summer, scored 31 points with 9/13 in three-pointers and 7 assists. "I am as tired as I am excited. I feel a great emotion. What we have experienced is stronger than what I imagined two months ago. I really wanted to win and we had a great opportunity. If you don't imagine things like this, they never happen," the MVP explained."I don't know how I will process all the memories. The person who put the most pressure on me was my daughter, who is five years old. Today was a different and special day because I had a lot of confidence. Whenever I shoot, I think the shot will go in. My game is like that, sometimes a little crazy. The idea is to continue writing more interesting chapters because the city of Badalona is really looking forward to it," said Lapro, who left Xavi Ballesteros, the journalist from Ràdio Ciutat de Badalona, speechless.

Nico Laprovittola never truly left Badalona. Seven years after leaving Penya to play for Madrid and Barça, the Argentine player starred in another memorable night wearing the green-and-black jersey. The shooting guard dominated with 27 points and 10 assists in Asisa Joventut's victory against Kosner Baskonia (96-84) and put the host team one step away from the Supercopa Endesa title. Their opponent in the final will be Barça. His former team.“We have done the job we wanted and the team has been very solid. We have a great opportunity and we must continue with the same mentality. If there is one thing I have had throughout my career it is confidence and the decision to return to Badalona was easy. I am in the place where I want to be,” analyzed Laprovittola. The Argentine counted on the complicity of Ricky Rubio, who added 13 points and 6 rebounds. “Laprovittola has played a great game. As a teammate and fan, it is very beautiful to see the magic he has in his hands. We are at a moment in our careers where we want to enjoy ourselves and I think we will do so this year. We want to continue with a project that is exciting and we are building great chemistry with the fans of Badalona,” acknowledged the Catalan.Asisa Joventut recovered from an 8-point deficit against Kosner Baskonia thanks to Laprovittola. The Argentine, who understood the semifinal like no one else, turned around the dynamics of the first half in a third quarter in which he spread his accuracy to a green-and-black team that did not waste its opportunity. “We started the season with a good game in front of our fans. We are far from our level, but Nico brings a lot of fuel to our game,” said Dani Miret, coach of Asisa Joventut. Kosner Baskonia went from more to less in a semifinal that became long for them. “We lacked a bit of energy and knowledge of the game,” lamented Paolo Galbiati, coach of the Basque team.

Marcin Balcerowski was a semi-professional Polish player who, after suffering a serious accident, became a star of wheelchair basketball. His example of overcoming adversity is an inspiration to his son, Olek Balcerowski (Poland, 2000). The new Barça center will play this Saturday in the Endesa Super Cup semifinal against Valencia Basket at the Pavelló Olímpic in Badalona (9 PM, DAZN). Asisa Joventut plays the other semifinal match against Kosner Baskonia (6 PM, DAZN).If you are here it is, in part, thanks to the figure of your father. What importance has he had in your life?

The Liga Endesa and the Liga Femenina Endesa kicked off the 2026-27 season with a joint presentation in Madrid. The event, which brought together 16 male players and 16 female players, served to highlight the great protagonists of the two major national basketball competitions. Comedian Eva Soriano and journalist Sergio Perela, from DAZN, hosted an act in which fans also had a prominent presence.The Catalans Guillem Vives, Pep Busquets, Oriol Paulí, Pierre Oriola, Laia Raventós, Mariona Ortiz, Deva Bermejo, Andrea Vilaró and Aina Ayuso were present at an event which was also attended by Eli John Ndiaye (Asisa Joventut), Olek Balcerowski (Barça) and Iyana Martín (Spar Girona). The Asturian player, who won the bronze medal at the World Cup on Sunday, was one of the protagonists who generated the most attention. “I believe I can contribute many things to the project and they can also contribute many things to me. We have a very important EuroLeague qualifying round. I chose Spar Girona because of the level they have maintained over the last few years. My main goal is to keep learning and improving, and with Roberto Íñiguez as coach I can do that,” said the Asturian, who speaks perfect Catalan due to her time at Segle XXI in Esplugues de Llobregat.

One is 35 years old and the other 36, but the excitement they generate is priceless. Asisa Joventut has started competing with Ricky Rubio and Nico Laprovittola, a duo that has sparked the optimism of a green-and-black fanbase eager to experience strong emotions. La Penya debuted with a loss against iLerna Lleida in the Catalan National League (89-84), but its followers have high hopes placed on this season.

Enes Kanter Freedom, the controversial former NBA player who caused an unexpected storm by declaring himself eligible for the draft of the WNBA –the women's competition–, continues to fan the flames. The Turk has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Sky and the owners of the Wintrust Arena, who threw him out of the arena for causing a disturbance.

"He has no doubts, his ideas are very clear." The determination of Xevi Pujol, the architect who is rethinking Barça, has helped the blue and garnet club incorporate a group of players with very specific characteristics. The Catalan has opted for young, athletic signings with a good predisposition for work, three premises that he considers necessary to propose a modern style of basketball. The name of Stanley Umude had been underlined for some time in the technical secretary's agenda. Aside from his defensive capacity, the forward has a characteristic that makes him differential: his shooting mechanics, which are substantially faster than those of other perimeter players.

A renewed group of 12 players and a Galician coach, Miguel Méndez, begin the Women's World Cup this Friday in Berlin, a championship that the Spanish national team is competing in eight years after its last participation. The ambition is as great as the difficulties that a team will face that has had little time to prepare for the tournament and will have to compete against teams of the level of the United States, France, Belgium or Australia.“We arrive at the competition in good shape, but we find ourselves in a new scenario. We have important players who have been competing in the WNBA and have only had a few days to join the national team. It is the first time this has happened to us, and we have to see how we adapt to it. We have prepared the team to compete without some of the important players. We have tried to organize it in the best way possible. Unlike other national teams that are more used to this, it is a new situation for us,” acknowledges Méndez to ARA.Five of the players (Awa Fam, María Conde, Raquel Carrera, Alicia Flórez, and Megan Gustafson) will have had only three days to adapt to a team that only includes one Catalan player, Mariona Ortiz. The Spanish national team will make its debut this Friday against host country Germany (5:45 PM, TDP). Japan and Mali complete the group. "We are aware of our potential," declares an optimistic Méndez.The coach, a lover of training, participated a few days ago in the Coach's Day, which was held in Vilafranca del Penedès. “It is a day of coexistence with a great tradition. We speakers try to contribute some detail that serves to help the attendees grow. It is about creating in them the curiosity to investigate. Young coaches do not go with the intention of copying things but of receiving new inputsthat force them to think”, he says.“I don’t like giving advice, but coaches who are starting out must work throughout their entire career, just like professionals do. There are many areas that are important. From the technical to the communicative, including psychology, leadership, or physical preparation. Our training never stops. The key is to have a very open mind and look for tools that help you develop your universe. The bible, the catechism that we coaches learn, changes year by year and you have to know how to adapt to new trends,” admits the national coach.The coach has accumulated four EuroLeague titles, the last one with Fenerbahçe. “I have been lucky enough to coach great teams with the capacity to reach their objectives. This is a stroke of luck for any coach. I feel the satisfaction of having achieved success, but it is clear that I have been through projects with resources,” he admits.An unbeatable favorite

Caitlin Clark, the player who receives the most media attention in the world, leads the United States team, a squad that has not lost any of the 30 matches it has played in the last four editions of the World Cup. Her chemistry with Angel Reese, with whom she has popularized a great rivalry for years, will be key. The absence of Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson due to physical reasons does not prevent the main international analysts from giving the North American team the label of heavy favorite in a tournament in which France aspires to cause an upset.

]]>

The incorporation of women into the world of sport has suffered serious impediments throughout history. The obstacles have changed according to the era and location, but some pioneers defied stereotypes and prejudices to achieve their goals. Publisher and writer Elisenda Albertí has compiled 19 of their stories in a book –Pioneers of Sport– which gathers emotions and joys, but also disappointments and sorrows.“The difficulty of the book was to make a selection, because I gathered many biographies. Athletes, both Catalan and international, appear. This allows us to compare the situations in different countries to know where we stood at each moment,” Albertí tells ARA. The role of women in the world of sport began to be claimed at the end of the 19th century in Anglo-Saxon culture. “In our context, we have to wait until the beginning of the 20th century, when there were still many reservations. The sports that were successful among women were few, but the sum of this practice with the first feminist claims served to combat hostility. In Catalonia, for example, the big change came with the Mancomunitat and the Second Republic, but then this openness receded,” he assures.Some of the pioneers had problems because of their political ideas. “If a woman opened her mouth, she had problems. When there are changes or novelties, there is always a type of person who criticizes and burdens it. They had defenders, but also many detractors. There were written media that treated them well, although others mistreated them. Some sports pioneers were insulted, caricatured, and erased from the archives. They had a very difficult time and, with Francoism, many suffered severe repression. The sports records of some of these pioneers were even erased. They disappeared and no longer exist,” she warns.

]]>

In the summer of 2020, when he was only 30 years old, Xevi Pujol became the youngest sporting director in the Liga Endesa. The Catalan, whom Jaume Ponsarnau saw coaching in the Bàsquet Manresa youth system when he proposed he be his assistant, moved from the court to the offices with great ease. His arrival caused some surprise. "They made a few jokes, because they were a bit surprised to see someone so young, but I was lucky enough to see how the machinery works for a long time. The sporting director makes the final decision, but before that, there's a lot of discussion with the people in the offices and the technical staff", explained in an interview with ARA.

]]>

Tight game. Growing emotion. The Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks are battling for victory in a very close match. Kayla McBride visits the free-throw line, at which point the entire arena hears the shouts of a fan. "Rickea!", he exclaims. He says it with so much energy that the television broadcast picks it up. Oblivious to the game's score, the fan implores Rickea Jackson, forward for the Sparks, to try and score more points because he needs to win his parlay bet.

]]>

Xevi Pujol will land at Barça next week with almost all the work done. The Barça club expects to announce the incorporation of the new technical secretary from August 3, when two months will have passed since he announced his departure to Baskonia. The Culer team, led by Xavier O'Callaghan and Mario Fernández, has made many moves in what has become the busiest summer in the entity's history.Barça has already closed nine player signings, but there will be more. Olivier Nkamhoua, Justin Robinson, Josh Nebo, Umoja Gibson, Agustín Ubal, Stanley Umude, Olek Balcerowski, Tyrese Martin, and Tosan Evbuomwan are already confirmed. In addition, the club has incorporated Aleksander Sekulic as coach. “I know what my idea is and I know how to execute it. My main desire is to convince the players to represent the club's colors with sacrifice, fight, and a desire to win titles. The team has been formed with this idea in mind. The truth is that the average age of the squad was quite high, around 34 years old. The renewal was the first logical step. Barça needed a new impulse to strengthen the club's identity and culture,” he assures in an interview with Sportklub.The Slovenian coach acknowledges that he did not expect to sign for the Barça club. “I assumed that Barça already had an agreement with a new coach, but it turned out that this information was not correct. They were interested in me, as the club had an idea to impose a new direction and were looking for a coach to undertake it. It seems that in me they have seen a coach with a similar vision”, assures Sekulic, who has already spoken with Joan Laporta. “He wanted to meet me in person”, he says.The bad news are the departures. If we add first team players, coaches and young talents from the academy, more than fifteen people will not continue with Barça. The most painful departures are those of people who had contracts, like Xavi Pascual, Juani Marcos, Will Clyburn, Toko Shengelia and Moses Wright, who paid his termination clause before the club announced his signing. The center, who will leave 900,000 euros to the coffers of the Barça club, will play for Olimpia Milan. The non-arrival of Mike James is different, as it was Barça who backed down. The player had signed his contract, but the Barça entity did not.Shengelia's departure is also very painful. Although it had not been made public, the Georgian small forward had renewed for three years just a few months ago, when he still thought that Xavi Pascual and his friend Will Clyburn would remain on the team. Despite not wanting to abandon Barça, the player has decided, after a complex period of reflection, to move to Dubai Basketball. His clause is also 900,000 euros.

]]>

The years go by and Queralt Casas maintains her passion intact. After seven seasons at Valencia Basket, the Bescanó player will strengthen the Spar Girona project, where she arrives eager to prove herself. “I have very good feelings and I am very happy to be able to return home. I am convinced that we will enjoy this season a lot and that we will experience many magical moments at Fontajau,” admits the shooting guard, who will reunite with Roberto Íñiguez, with whom she already coincided at Sopron.Casas, who is training these days at ExtraTime in Fornells de la Selva, has now fully recovered from the fracture of the ulna and radius she had in her left arm. “Injuries are the toughest part of sports, nobody wants to go through them, but once you have them and accept them, you have to work to return as soon as possible. The truth is that I recovered very well, I have good feelings and I have already forgotten about it,” she acknowledges.

]]>

Tired of the few future options he saw in Senegal, Awa Fam's father traveled to Alicante, where he had a friend who helped him process his papers and find work. His wife arrived shortly after and the family settled in Santa Pola. His parents, Madoumbe and Arane, ran an African craft shop, but when she was born at Elche Hospital they closed it to dedicate themselves to street vending.

]]>