He has played 425 games in the ACB, and has never played for Fontajau. Was it a pending subject?
I’ve probably never played it, you’re right. I had never stopped to think about it. I had gone to see Valvi and Akasvayu as a kid, but never competed there. Obviously, the game makes me especially excited because I’m from Girona, my family and friends will be there, not only from Ripoll, but also from Palamós, which is where I spend my summer, and people I’ve met thanks to basketball.
Had he seen Marc Gasol play from the stands with Akasvayu? How did you experience the disappearance of the Girona ACB in 2008?
I had seen him play, but not in Fontajau. Marc and I had met at Barça, he was already at the EBA and I was starting at the children’s school, and we crossed paths in the corridors of the Palau. From that Akasvayu I remember the “boom” that was generated with the signings of extraordinary players such as Fran Vázquez, Raül López, Dueñas or Fucka. From touching the sky to disappearing. I don’t want to compare it, but in Burgos we were champions of the Champions League, Akasvayu was the champion of the FIBA Cup, and last season we were relegated to LEB Or.
World champion in 2019, two Champions Leagues with Burgos, two leagues with Barça… there are few people from Girona with this record…
I don’t know, I’ve never thought about it either. Jordi Trias would come to mind, who was my reference when I was little. We met on a Valvi campus and also in the Barça dressing room, and we have continued to have a good relationship.
What is left to do, still, in professional sport?
keep enjoying I’m having a lot of fun, I’m enjoying what I’m doing playing basketball. I feel privileged to enjoy my work. I’m good mentally and physically. I have rope for a while. As long as my body and head are working, I want to keep going and knock on wood because the injuries have respected me so far. Now in Bilbao I am very well. There are great fans, a match in Miribilla is spectacular because of the atmosphere that is generated there.
There is a basketball boom in the city. How has the evolution of Basketball Girona and Uni followed from afar?
You always have an eye on the house, and so much so that I followed it. Basketball Girona perhaps more since Marc arrived and saw that his expectations were being met. He has a way of doing things and wants to develop a project that is not something effervescent, that is solid, with foundations, and lasting over time. Hopefully they will consolidate in the elite. Uni, on the other hand, has already shown everything, won two leagues and a cup, competing with Perfumerías Avenida and Valencia, and now they have the challenge of taking another step in the Euroleague.
Girona will always be a city of basketball… and football.
It is a luxury that Girona, with its dimensions, has football and men’s and women’s basketball in the highest category. It does a lot for young people, so the children have someone to look up to. In addition, this wide offer allows you to have first-class plans at the weekend, if you like sport.
Girona has three wins in four games. Is this the worst time to meet them?
Surely they are going through their best time, but for me it is never a good time to play away. We will have to try to maintain our level. We didn’t aim to qualify for the Cup, but with two days left to finish the first round there are options, and we want to fight and exhaust them. This is our hope, even though it would take us to win in Girona and Barcelona, two outings in a row. I have been with Aíto in Gran Canaria and he is a different coach, I know what the adaptation of new players means to him and his philosophy is to work hard on the fundamentals of the players. In addition, the arrival of Jeremiah Hill can be very good for them.
He knows Quino Colom well, and now he has taken a step forward.
I see him very well. He is very talented. He is a player capable of scoring easily. We have to attack him, he suffers in defense and that’s where we have to try to find his weak points. Quino and I have known each other since we were 15, we lived many moments together in China, at the 2019 World Cup, and we also played together at Fuenlabrada and Estudiantes. I am happy to see him again at the ACB and in a project like the one in Girona.
What are Bilbao’s arguments? Is Hakanson the team’s big danger?
Hakanson is in a very sweet moment, he has found his maturity. He makes good decisions for himself and the team and sets our pace. We also have Adam Smith, very electric, who solves many things for you in 1×1. But beyond the names, Kyser, Sulejmanovic, or others, we have one very good thing: everyone adds up.
After 425 games in the elite, is it clear that the decision to leave Ripoll at the age of 13 for Barça was the right one?
Yes. I won the lottery. If I hadn’t taken that train I wouldn’t be here now. I have to thank Barça for betting on me at 13 years old. I now watch games of boys of this age and I don’t know who I would choose as a possible player of the future. I also have to thank my parents for allowing me to leave home at that age. Now that I have children I understand that it must be very difficult to make such a decision. But everything went well.
What memories do you have of the Farmhouse? With Pedro, Bojan…
I’m still friends with Bojan. I was also there with Thiago, Fontàs, Samper… everyone has been finding their way, most of them outside of Barça. We must be grateful that the club has a bet like this to train people from the base and give a chance.
How has the ACB evolved and how has Xavi Rabaseda done since he debuted there in 2008?
I’ve been looking for my place. I came out of LEB being a participative player in attack and scoring points. Every time in the ACB my role is more defensive and to do the dark work of sacrifice for the team. Without ceasing to take care of the attack but it is no longer important for me to make points or the statistic. I am valued for another type of work. Everyone likes to score points but I am clear about my role and the important thing is that the team wins. If I have to play 20 minutes, defend to the death, and only take one shot, I’ll do it with a good face. The ACB? he has evolved a lot, there are better and better players and he has a more physical game.
Would Girona be a good place to retire? Would you like to try your luck abroad?
I wish I could play in Girona one day, it would be a round end for my career, finish at home, close the circle in the best possible way. Years ago there was some possibility of going outside, but there wasn’t much custom and it didn’t work out. It’s not something I’ve lost sleep over, and now it’s very difficult. I want to keep playing, but with my family by my side,
