“I’m excited to have played at the Palau Blaugrana and to think that a year ago I couldn’t because I was ill,” explains López, who last July announced that Hodgkin’s lymphoma had completely gone into remission. Barça CBS usually plays its home games at the Juan Carlos Navarro pavilion in Sant Feliu de Llobregat and only sets foot in the Palau Blaugrana on special days, such as Sunday, when the club honored the squad that in 2003 proclaimed League champion. “The key is to trust the doctors, seek support from the people who are next to you and allow yourself to be bad,” he summarizes.
López played 19 minutes against Valencia Basket and scored four points. The most special moment was when he scored a triple and celebrated it by sticking out his tongue. “I dedicated it to my sister, who is pregnant,” says the player, who has a very special connection with the Barcelona club. His mother, Loly Rodríguez, was one of the pioneers of Barça soccer. “I’m a culer all my life. I am excited to wear these colors and the project is very encouraging”, he says.
A year ago I couldn’t play at the Palau Blaugrana because I was ill”
Ainhoa López CBS Barça player
“Both my mother and my father have been athletes. The mother played for Barça and we often compare the conditions of her era with those of mine. The evolution of women’s sport is interesting. We currently have many more resources. We are always critical of the current media, but seeing it in perspective we have gone for the better. The situation in women’s sport has improved, but we still have a lot of steps to take”, analyzes Ainhoa. Her father [Manel López] he played basketball, among other clubs, at Santiago Apóstol de l’Hospitalet. “I started playing it when I was 5 years old. My first club was Grup Barna. It was a coincidence because we were walking down the street and we saw an ad for her school”, recalls the player.
Reinforced project
Although the Catalan team lost against the leader of the Women’s League Endesa on Sunday, the season is going very well. The team coached by Isaac Fernández is in seventh position with eleven wins and eleven losses. “We really want to contribute to making the project continue to grow,” he says. Barça CBS has been strengthened with Ariadna Pujol, a player from Cadí La Seu. “Her signing will give us an extra point in this final stretch. Ariadna Pujol already has a lot of experience in this league and is a very good player in the open field. She will give us energy, verticality and a different alternative in the perimeter rotation. We add a good weapon to face the final stretch”, analyzes Núria Martínez, the sports director of Barça CBS.
“Hopefully one day we can talk about sport without labeling it a women’s sport. We players have hope and courage to keep fighting because we will achieve true success the day when the opportunities for men and women are 100 % equal, both in sport and in life. As Alexia Putellas said, we are here to stay. And I would like to clarify that we have not arrived now but that we have always been there and will be there. In fact , we are here thanks to all the pioneering women who were brave and never stopped believing in a better future. We have an individual and collective responsibility to carry on with their legacy,” recalls López.
