“Something like that is exciting”

On Friday, Spar Girona made history by qualifying for the first time in their history for a quarter-final of the Euroleague. This is perfectly known to his fans, who, 24 hours after the match against Famila Schio, received the Girona players as they deserve on their arrival in Fontajau from El Prat airport. More than half a hundred people gathered around the Girona pavilion to congratulate first hand the group led by Alfred Julbe, and the players responded. Despite the distance to be kept due to the pandemic, the players wanted to respond gratefully to their audience. All but Laia Palau, who had stayed in Barcelona, ​​took photos and signed autographs despite the obvious fatigue accumulated after playing three games in four days. Especially the last two, against Ekaterinburg and Famila Schio, were of remarkable physical exigency. The meeting ended with a shout of “Uni” among the staff and fans, with María Araújo acting as master of ceremonies. Vigo, one of the most prominent players in this second “bubble” in Italy, was the one who asked to shout together to celebrate this historic milestone for the club.

Among the people gathered in Fontajau were, how could it be otherwise, the president of the entity, Cayetano Pérez, and also the sporting director of the club, Pere Puig. Perez acknowledged that “something like this is very exciting. Especially when all the efforts we are making and all that we are going through this year come to mind. That makes you very proud of the work done.

In fact, the president recalled yesterday morning via Twitter that it had been just a year since Fontajau had been affected by the storm Gloria and, in addition, “we have been hooked.” “We are trying to redo everything a little bit, little by little and as best we can because we have not had any help or subsidy from the institutions,” said Pérez. In the same vein, Pere Puig said that “it is a historic milestone to be among the eight best teams in Europe”, but also added that “we must continue because this does not stop and no title has been won”. However, the Girona sports director also explains that “since Uni we have never considered winning titles. The club’s goal is to take steps forward. Friday’s is one more and we can’t stop.

In the Euroleague it will be necessary to face in quarters of end the eternal rival, the Perfumerías Avenue. He will be in a two-game tie between March 14 and 20 and in a single venue yet to be decided. “We would have liked to meet another team,” explained Cayetano Pérez. The president of the Girona club also said that “it would be very nice” to host this qualifier in Fontajau, “but we know that it is very difficult”. For his part, Pere Puig stated that “Salamanca is above us, but we will see how it is in two months’ time”. And now they are selling many clean weeks, with no competition during the week, and this should be taken advantage of by the team coached by Alfred Julbe to grow, because “if you stop now and don’t grow anymore, in two months we will have no options.

Now, the squad will have a short break, as until Friday (19.30) it does not have the next game. It will be in Fontajau against Bembibre, the penultimate ranked team in the league.