Basketball | Copa del Rey
The lesson of the Murcian fans in Granada and the daring play of Sito’s men have made them the most popular team in the competition
Granada is Murcian and is proud to be so because the UCAM can be too, from the first to the last of the members of its structure. A hackneyed cliché, but no less true for that, and it is that the synergies and the connection that they showed from the track to the stands pushed the university students at all times to keep the dream alive against a Euroleague behemoth like Barcelona. . She skimmed the feat.
Soul, passion and maximum dedication. The fans knew his duties and, aware of their task yesterday, did not cease in their efforts to cheer Sito’s men against all odds. The throats of each of the paprika present in the pavilion were placed at the service of the UCAM from the arrival of the bus near the Palacio de Deportes de Granada and throughout the entire battle against Barcelona. The one from Murcia, the most numerous and noisy fans in the pavilion, was not alone, as each eliminated fan gave their love to a UCAM with a Don Juan complex, conquering one another and other basketball lovers.
Sito Alonso continued yesterday with difficulties to raise his voice and the anxiety that Davis had suffered against Valencia was due to breathing problems
Heads, with theirs
Illustrious faces as well as loved by the national basketball team were dropped at an event in which year after year the ‘vips’ of the world meet. Among them, Carlos Cabezas, one of the players who, with his experience and talent on the field, did his bit for the university club to dream today of heights that years ago were totally unthinkable. The man from Malaga, a confessed follower of Barça, pointed out that he was “only in football”, and that yesterday in Granada he was “totally with UCAM”, a team he went to cheer on in the company of friends from Murcia.
The university team, which in the days prior to its participation in this historic event suffered the inopportune burden that the Covid-19 inflicted on some members of its squad and that altered the preparation plans for the tournament, could count against Barcelona with all the members of his squad, once the assistant Óscar Lata tested negative yesterday morning, being able to accompany Sito on this occasion after missing the quarterfinal match, in which Lucas Pérez took a great step forward that they recognized Site and players before the press and on social networks. With the three coaches on the sideline, they took turns giving instructions, demonstrating their great rapport and synchrony.
Of course, the UCAM did not arrive in the best conditions. Sito continued to have difficulty raising his voice and the anxiety that Davis had suffered in the quarterfinals against Valencia was due to serious breathing problems after his second stint with Covid-19.
Yesterday, each eliminated fan gave their love to a UCAM with a Don Juan complex, conquering one and another lovers of national basketball
The “Consolidation” Cup
The UCAM, as since the Cup began, had the support of its Basketball Federation of the Region of Murcia, the body chaired by Juan Carlos Hernández, who hopes that the epic participation of the university team in the tournament will have an impact on the “consolidation of Murcian basketball, serve to bring a greater influx of public to the matches played at the Palacio de los Deportes de Murcia, as well as a considerable increase in the federative records for next season.
Given the incredible atmosphere that is breathed during these days by the Nasrid city, Hernández commented that the economic impact for the organizing city amounted to «up to 20 million euros2. Faced with the hypothesis of holding this event in the capital of the Segura, he explained with a certain healthy envy that “certain conditions must be met and an agreement must be reached between all the institutions involved.”
Granada lives during the day and even more so at night. As is customary among the players of the teams that fall at the first change, once free of immediate commitments with their respective teams, they decide to take a break from their obligations to enjoy together with the fans in any of the many nightclubs that the city houses in its historic centers.
Some of the protagonists who, after playing their respective matches, took the “Cup party” literally, were seen in the vicinity of discos and ‘pubs’ at dawn on Saturday were Xabi López-Arostegui and Joel Parra, Valencia and Joventut players and former teammates in Badalona and in the national team. What happened last night, in Granada stays.