He was born in Villa Mercedes, San Luis, almost 44 years ago and at 17 he arrived in the province to join the ranks of that Independiente de General Pico who made history in the National Basketball League.
The pandemic that forced us to stop last season may have raised some thoughts of permanently retiring from basketball but today, at 44 years old, Jorge Sánchez faces a new preseason for the Federal Tournament defending the colors of All Boys of Santa Rosa.
He trained at Alberdi Club in his hometown to later join the ranks of Aviador Origone. From there and with the aim of growing, he came to La Pampa to join Independiente, which, at that time, shone in the highest category of Argentine basketball.
The power forward who will turn 44 on February 1 knew how to play in River, Obras, Vélez, Gimnasia de La Plata, Estudiantes de Santa Rosa and, among others, Anzorena de Mendoza, where he left the professional activity in 2017.
Today he is training for a new Federal Tournament season at the club that opened the doors to him in 1998 and that in 2019 made him believe again that he could give a little more.
“During the week the leaders communicated and my continuity for one more season was specified,” said Jorge Sánchez in dialogue with LA CHUECA, ruling out the possibility that the pandemic had put an end to his career.
“I continued training since the last tournament was cut short,” said the pivot forward, adding: “The way I finished was abrupt and Juan Cruz Gavazza had told me that he wanted me to continue.”
The desire is.
At the age of 17, he arrived in La Pampa with high expectations for the future. From that youthful member of one of the historic teams in the province to the experienced basketball player of today, Sánchez said that only his physique changed.
“What remains of that boy is the head, because the body has changed a lot,” he said and added: “I always have the same desire, responsibility, illusions and goals as that 17-year-old boy.”
The physique at 44 is not the same as at 17, that is clear, but what the “Pelado” lost in the physical, he gained in experience: “Now I have more experience than at that time,” he said.
«My colleagues are almost 20 years younger than me and they are an airplane. I try to keep up with them and not loosen up because the game is very dynamic now, “he added. “I am aware that I have to play and participate more because it is not possible only with experience,” he said.
El Hacha, his other nickname, also expressed his ‘anger’ when he sees that his physique does not respond in a specific play. “Around there I get angry when I can’t get to a ball or I can’t play for that long because the body takes its toll,” he said.
“The goal is to always be competitive and leave the club as high as possible,” he explained.
Believe again.
Jorge Sánchez arrived in Santa Rosa in 1998 to join All Boys, which at that time participated in Liga B (today Federal Tournament).
“That year I came from not playing because I went from Independiente to San Luis and had an eight-month break in which I was defining what to do with my life,” said Hacha.
“At that time they called me from All Boys to face League B, which is now Federal, and a fantastic group was put together with a very good coaching staff,” he said.
In that tournament All Boys came to play the semifinals against Argentino de Junín: “That contest marked me a lot because from then on I began to have goals in basketball again,” said the pivot wing who at 44 will face a new season at the federal basketball.
Positive career.
Jorge Sánchez stressed that the balance of his career was always positive. «Beyond what I went through, the balance is very good. I was champion, I went downhill and played in the three categories of Argentine basketball, “he said.
“When I started, which was in Villa Mercedes, I thought that I could not be there anymore because I felt that I wanted to grow a little more,” said the auriazul basketball player at the time that also stressed that this was the key point for his career.
«I added good and bad things because I learned more from the defeats than from the victories. It was constant growth and adding experience every year, “he said.
Perhaps his peak was in Obras Sanitarias, but in Independiente de General Pico he got a valuable filming for what today is an extensive career that took him to various corners of the country.
In the Red Pampean season during the 1994/95 season, a youth Sánchez achieved perhaps one of the greatest achievements of Pampean sport: to be crowned in the National Basketball League. A year later, in the 1996 season, Independiente won the South American League.
“I never thought about this race,” he said. “It all happened very quickly, I was very young and that gave me a boost to face what was coming,” he added and concluded: “It’s been a long career from which I get many positive things.”
Do the boys identify with us?
The youth of the formative basketball of All Boys see in the players of the Federal squad a model to follow. “I think that I serve the club in terms of giving advice to the youngest,” said Sánchez and added: “A responsibility is generated, we are the image of the club.”
In addition, the athlete stressed that not only behavior on the court is important, but also “what is done outside is important”.
?? The boys are like a sponge that absorb everything, they see your behavior, when you arrive and when you leave the club ??, he maintained and highlighted: ?? The idea of the institution is that the players of the formative categories have a goal and that, for example, tomorrow they dream of being like Franco Zalabardo or Antonio Manera ??.
?? In this case, in All Boys, I like to leave an image to the little ones that if they sacrifice for their goals they can go where they want. We try to show you that you can get there by being persistent ??, he concluded.
