Antonio Martin Espina (Madrid, 1966) will experience his fifth Copa del Rey as president of the ACB, a position he reached in July 2018. He has only seen Barça (3) and Madrid (1) lift the Cup. The head of the ACB is convinced that we will see a very special Cup.
What do you think makes this Copa del Rey special compared to previous ones?
I don’t know if it makes it different from the previous ones, but I think it’s going to be special, first of all because of the competitive aspect, which seems to be very powerful based on how all the teams get to the competition. The KO tournament is accentuated for me. Apart from the sporting aspect, I think that the deployment that the ACB and the City Council are carrying out to turn this event into something very special, with a spectacular Fan Zone, makes it different for me. If you go to a city where basketball is breathed, where there are many children from many schools who are going to be experiencing the Cup, like the Minicopa, and that in the end makes it special.
Do you have the feeling that you had to wait many years for him to return to Badalona?
I have two feelings. I can say that it didn’t take me long to bring it (laughs…). At the basketball level it could be. Catalonia has been for many years a mirror not only of basketball but also of sport. The fact that the Cup is here and other sporting events is quite natural. The last one was in Barcelona in 2012. Many years have passed.
Has it surprised you how all the levels have turned to make this Cup a complete success?
I knew they were very interested because they showed it for a long time, but that desire for the people involved in the Cup not only to be the ACB, but the city and to live it as their own, in Badalona it is being brutal, spectacular.
The Cup, for the fans
Do you think that this is going to be transferred to the streets, outside the Olímpic?
People will follow what we do, and if that passion is transmitted and you give people the ability to enjoy it and be the driving force behind the activities, then success is assured. If people don’t feel involved in the Cup, then it doesn’t make the sense that we want to give it. For me it is basic that everyone feels like part of this competition.
Do you agree that it is the most uncertain Cup in recent years?
The draws randomly determine the crosses and the state of the teams they reach the Cup is what it is. I agree one hundred percent with you. That feeling that is always breathed but that has never been a surprise and who is going to make it to the quarterfinals, in this case it exists.
Do you anticipate any surprises?
I have no idea. I’m not very good at predictions but I think this year is even more complicated.
A final without Barça or Madrid or neither?
If Barça or Madrid or neither is in the final, would it be an example of maturity for this tournament, always subject to the two greats?
Part of the growth of the Cup is in the hands of its teams, and if the greats have to be there, then they will be. To win the Cup you have to win sooner or later everyone you face. The fact that there are alternatives to the usual champions is healthy, but if Barça or Madrid win it, it is because it will be fair.
But that option gives more wings to the other teams, right?
That aspiration is very healthy. The eight teams are convinced that they can win it, with the sole objective of winning game by game. No need to motivate the players. That is why it is such an attractive competition that is seen in 152 countries around the world.
Is the success of the product still pulling a lot everywhere?
Yes, they really like the format and there is a league that is set to do something similar (he refers to the NBA) but it will continue to grow and our goal is not to spoil it. The success has been created by the fans, first in person and then the echo that has been growing abroad.
touch the fair
Do you think you don’t have to play a lot of things to keep it so interesting?
The bottom line is what it’s been successful for, and whatever adaptability we have to do things that are realistic on an amateur level, the rest is a matter of not messing it up.
Does the Minicopa need a little more publicity within the Cup tournament?
He’s catching an important flight. A preview was made and we can no longer go to small courts because families turn to each other and it is a time of brutal sociability. The Minicopa itself, people follow it and it is appreciated by the views on the networks and we will give it live on You Tube. People want to see the kids’ basketball because it’s fresh.
Do some clubs complain that players who are not part of the club are added…
It seems good to me that a player is tested and that he can become important as happened in the case of Doncic. If we are part of the element of attracting talent for the clubs, I am happy. Some of these players might not come if it wasn’t in the cup tournament. I will be there from the first day, on Wednesday. I encourage fans to get close.
Players back to the ACB
In another order of things, is the ACB proud that players who go to the NBA end up returning here?
First, it is comforting that the only option they are considering is to return to the ACB and not to any other. They know that it is the toughest competition for the player, they are very demanding competitions from day one. Anyone who wants to compete at a high level knows that this is the place. It is also a source of joy that many players who go there continue to be just as connected to what is happening in the Endesa League, almost more than to their own competition.
I understand that the players want to go to the NBA but I think that the conditions for their departure are too lax and this issue should be resolved between the clubs and FIBA
I guess it must bother you that they leave with some ease…
Yes, it bothers me. And with that said, you can’t stop the professional desire to go to the NBA.
Do you think that the agreements for your departure are too lax?
Yes, I believe it with capital letters. I believe that there must be an agreement with the clubs, FIBA and Leagues on the terms of that exit. It is something that I consider pending.
Small legacy of the ACB
When the Cup ends on Sunday, how would you consider it a success?
May the fans declare that they love her again, and with all humility, that we have made a small legacy to the city and to the club that has welcomed her. Let things like the ones that are being presented take shape. We all do it for the viewer’s enjoyment.
Finally, what has changed from the president who arrived in 2018 to the current one?
Well, I have to say that we have experienced quite complex situations. We spent a year and a half with a pandemic, with many doubts and the decision-making was very hunchbacked. I think that every day you have to reset and gain strength, otherwise you are dead.
