Turned into a veteran of just 27 years, the forward Belén Arrojo will complete this course ten uninterrupted seasons in the LF Endesa. An entire decade full of leadership and growth and that she will celebrate by enlisting in the ranks of a Hozono Global Jairis who starred in one of the bombshells of the summer with her signing.
PABLO ROMERO / COMMUNICATION AREA FEB
Ten seasons have passed since Beroil Burgos offered a young and promising Belén Arrojo the chance to play the first season of her career at LF Endesa.
An experience that ended up marking his future thanks to the high number of minutes with which he was able to gain weight in a competition in which he was soon fighting collectively for objectives as juicy as the Copa de la Reina or the Playoffs for the title. But all this without neglecting a personal growth that soon led him to play in the colossus Perfumerías Avenida and to play four consecutive seasons in European Competitions.
Since then, the coveted Nasrid forward has not stopped growing on a personal level until she became one of the three strong national basketball players in which she surprised again this summer. On this occasion, she committed herself to a recently promoted Hozono Global Jairis, as she had already done a few years ago with her signing for Snatt’s Sant Adrià.
A move that then made her one of the best scorers in a LF Endesa, which she hopes to conquer again this season from the Alcantarilla track in Murcia.
Belén Arrojo: “We want the image of the Final Four to be repeated in every match”
Rushing the last days of recovery after suffering a small muscle injury, Belén Arrojo is currently enjoying the last throes of a summer that is allowing her to fully enjoy her new destination. Because the town of Alcantarilla will be her home throughout a season in which this valuable national forward will celebrate her first decade as a LF Endesa player.
Bethlehem, new year, new life with Hozono Global Jairis…
“Yes, and I am really happy both with how the club has welcomed me, and with how all those people around it are treating us. He arrived with great enthusiasm and with great desire, but when you see that the club is so aware of you at all times and that his desire is none other than that you can feel comfortable in his family, all those emotions are increasing. In the end, when you’re comfortable off the track you end up feeling comfortable on it and that’s a really good thing for the team.”
Yours was one of the first signings of the summer and, without a doubt, the real bombshell of newcomer Hozono Global Jairis. How did they convince you to do it?
“The truth is that the first contact came very soon. They were promoted in May and a few weeks later, Lucas called me to find out both my personal situation and my idea for the next season. I told him about the different options that he had on the table and he explained to me a team idea and a project that seemed very interesting to me. He told me about some names they were already talking to, about his team idea, about the style of play he wanted to achieve, about the objectives… He gave me very good feelings and from then on, the agreement was really simple”.
It is not the first time in your career that you have surprised signing for a debutant (Snatt’s Sant Adrià) and on that occasion you already showed that you had a good eye when it came to deciding…
“Yes, because I think that the two recently promoted have the same chances today of achieving a goal as any of the other 14 teams in the League. Obviously you know that you will not be able to win the League, but you are also clear that with enthusiasm, desire, ambition and work, you can achieve any challenge you set for yourself. If you start the season at a good level and things are going… Why not dream of causing a surprise and getting into the Copa de la Reina or the Playoffs? We know that the initial objective and what must be required of us is permanence, but we want our work to be of quality and for that to help us try to be as high as possible”.
I imagine that in the balance of the final decision would be the “but” of not being able to play in Europe after four seasons without missing the appointment…
“Yes, that was the only negative aspect that I found, that I was not going to be able to enjoy something as beautiful for a player as playing European competition. But as you say, when I put it on the scale I think the positive aspects that the club offered me weighed much more. In the end I thought that I had already enjoyed a year in the Euroleague and three in a row in the Eurocup and that, for now, it was not too worrying for me to have to put that feeling on hold temporarily. The challenge of the Hozono Global Jairis attracted me and that is why I did not think much about it”.
And upon your arrival you have found training on the beach, paddle surfing, sessions in nature… Surely this way the preseason is much more bearable!
“Yes, because the day of the beach and paddle surfing we came from several work sessions on the track and it was like a break, we had a really good time and it helped us to get to know each other much better with a really different day. In the end, they are things that help you make the job much more bearable and that also contribute to building the team concept. But that does not mean that they are not doing a very intense job both physically and tactically. Lucas is a coach who likes his teams to arrive at the start of the league with a lot of work and that is why we are having sessions in which we are growing a lot as a team”.
These days you are recovering from a quadriceps muscle injury, but how have you seen the team in the dispute of its first two friendlies?
“Good, because some rules and guidelines of the team we want to become are beginning to be seen. Obviously, it’s still early to see results, Erika de Souza still needs to arrive and I need to get back into team dynamics to complete the puzzle, but there is a lot of enthusiasm to grow both individually and collectively. There is a good feeling both in defense and attack and I think we can be optimistic about the level we can reach on that first day of the League”.
You already knew Lucas Fernández after three seasons in Gernika. What has he asked of you for this new stage in Alcantarilla?
“Well, he is a coach who respects the individual talent of the player a lot and that is why he gives you a certain freedom within the team game. There are common rules, guidelines, but he doesn’t limit you when making decisions or when looking for options as long as they are good for the team. I think that message helps you feel comfortable and helps you grow within the team and that’s where I want to move a little. As a coach, he really likes to talk with the player and that will also help us to always be clear about what he wants from us throughout the season”.
This year you will complete ten uninterrupted seasons at LF Endesa… At just 27 years old! Is the experience beginning to show when making decisions in the hot moments of the game?
“Yes, and I think that is something that Lucas has also valued a lot when bringing me to the team. From the first year, each season teaches you either for the good or for the bad. You are adding experiences, learning from mistakes and knowing how you can improve both in games and in decision-making. This year, I come to a very young team, with girls who want to take on the world and we will also have to help Erika and me with our backpack. For me it is a great pride to be able to find myself at this point in my career and to have enjoyed these years so much, but I think we have to keep looking forward and working for what may be to come”.
There has been a lot of talk during the summer about your debut at the LF Endesa that perhaps we have overlooked that this project comes with the idea of a future in the medium and long term…
“Of course. As I was saying, from the first day here, everyone has given us great enthusiasm for what is to come. The club is working very well so that we can get to the start of the season in the best possible conditions, but both the small sponsors and the people at Hozono Global are clear that this year they want to enjoy what they have achieved. There is a first short-term objective that goes through this season and what it will mean for the club, but also an idea for the future with which to project the team over time. That is a little further away for now, but it is something that is very present in the day-to-day life of the club”.
And to the fans? What message do we send to those people from Alcantarilla who filled the Fausto Vicent during the Final Four to take them to the Endesa League?
“Having experienced it from a distance, I think that last season was already very important for the club and that the Final Four helped build a team feeling in Alcantarilla. Now, when we go through the streets we begin to hear comments about the team, the players… and that makes you see that women’s basketball is beginning to have its place. The next step has to be for that image of the Final Four to be repeated in as many games as possible, for people to fill the pavilion and for all of us to join so that the team can become strong at home. Each match is going to be much more complicated than the previous one and that’s why we’re going to need all of us to walk together towards our first big goal”.
season stats – Bethlehem Arrojo:
COMPLETE SHEET
Games played: 30
Minutes: 24.49
Points: 4.3
Rebounds: 5.5
Assists: 1.4
Recoveries: 1.1
Plugs: 0.2
Fouls received: 1.4
Valuation: 9.3
sports career – Bethlehem Arrojo:
Inferior categories: College Queen of the World
2007/09: CD Tear Ramón y Cajal (Children)
2009/10: Segle XXI (Junior)
2010/13: 21st Century (Women’s League 2)
2013/14: Beroil City of Burgos (LF Endesa)
2014/15: Mann filter (LF Endesa)
2015/17: Cadí La Seu (LF Endesa)
2017/18: Snatt’s Women’s Sant Adrià (LF Endesa)
2018/19: Avenue Perfumeries (LF Endesa)
2019/22: Lointek Gernika (LF Endesa)
2022/23: Click Download to save Hozono Global Jairis mp3 youtube com
international trajectory – Bethlehem Arrojo:
2010: 5th place – European U16F (Greece)
2011: Gold Medal – European U16F (Italy)
2012: 5th place – European U18F (Romania)
2012: Silver Medal – U17F World Cup (Netherlands)
2013: Fourth Place – U19F World Cup (Lithuania)
2013: Gold Medal – European U18F (Croatia)
2014: Silver Medal – European U20F (Italy)
2015: Gold Medal – European U20F (Spain)
2018: Bronze Medal – World Cup (Spain)
