After an intense course for the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the entity, Club Básquet Salt faces a new season with the aim of playing a good role in the domestic competition and achieving the longed-for promotion to the Cup. The sports management has given continuity to the project of the coach Marc Jiménez at the same time as he has courageously revolutionized the squad: he has renewed only five players and announced six additions, leaving a free sheet for some young person from the second team to enter the dynamics of the first squad .
Now it’s up to the players to prove their quality on the court after a busy summer in the office. The casualty portfolio is the most extensive of all due to the withdrawal from professional basketball of some of the most important players in recent years, either for sporting, family or work reasons. Among them are those of Pau Figueras, Roger Ballell, Dani Aritz, Fede Ferrari, Pau Condom, Martí Guardiola and Jordi Geli. Only four players remain from last season’s squad: Joan Mateu, Ferran Carbó, Sergi Jurado, Marc Pérez and Dani Ocaña.
In addition to all this, the club has announced the promotion of Genís Riu and Aniol Masgrau, who join from the base, and the signings of Axel Poch, with experience at EBA and coming from Bisbal Bàsquet; by Pau Casademont and Joan Rovira, from the Quart de Primera Catalana; and Martí Romans, who arrives from Girona.
Francesc Mejías, the club’s sports director, points out that the rejuvenation of the staff is another argument to give continuity to the project and assures that, if you want to fight for promotion, in this category what is needed is work: “Unfortunately it’s not like professional sports. Making a template with a checkbook doesn’t guarantee you anything. It’s about working, being a group, getting the first team players involved and thus involving the base.”
Marc Jiménez, coach of CB Salt since last March, is excited to start a course from the beginning and explains that with the group he has there are reasons to dream: “It is a very balanced team. We have players with experience in the category, even in higher divisions, and youngsters who have reached the first team on their own merits. It’s a balance we haven’t had in a while. That’s why we’re so excited.” Jiménez also attaches great importance to commitment: “We finished very well last season. Now we want to work at the commitment level. That the kids feel the privilege of wearing the Salt shirt, that they don’t want to skip any training,” he says. And of course, if the staff gets involved with the sports project, then Jiménez does see possibilities of raising the bar for sporting challenges: “From the beginning we will fight for everything. We are a new team and we want to grow every week. We will work to be as high as possible in a year as special as the fiftieth anniversary”, says the coach. Sergi Jurado, the club’s center wing and franchise player, also faces it: “We have a good team. We have renovated it quite a bit and we are a young staff. We players want to aspire to compete until the end. If we do, the results will come,” he says.
Despite the challenge, from the club they also value the social and sporting work of CB Salt, which they want to promote even more with the celebration of fifty years of history. Mejías explains that the organization goes far beyond sporting achievements, as it also serves to work on social cohesion and to educate the boys and girls of the municipality in positive values. That’s why he assures that “every time the child understands sport and the club as an outlet, it’s a huge success and a source of pride for the work we do”. From the board, it is now also proposed to give continuity to the female junior players with the intention of them becoming, in two years’ time, a senior professional team.
During the final act of last season, the event calendar was already used to celebrate the half century of life, but there will be many more. Of all the highlights, a photo exhibition with portraits of the beginnings, a meeting with former players and members who were part of the organization in their day and a closing with all the yous and uts.
In Primera Catalana, the Saltens will make their debut on September 24 at 5:45 pm against CB Blanes, and will open the Municipal Sports Pavilion on Sunday, October 2 at 5 pm against CB Granollers.
