The third edition of the Spanish Basketball Hall of Fame, organized this Thursday at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville by the Federation and the newspaper As, has opened its doors to 16 new members. At the head of the promotion shines Pau Gasol, who will hardly forget a year 2023 full of recognition: the retirement of his Lakers jersey, entry into the World Hall of Fame and now this award that he has shared with the rest of the award winners. In addition to the former Catalan center, the presence on the list of stars of Laia Palau also stands out, who holds the record for international matches with the Spanish team: 314, compared to 258 for Amaya Valdemoro, 255 for Rudy Fernández and 253 for Juan Carlos Navarro. and Marina Ferragut. The cast is completed by eight other illustrious names who shone on the slopes: Felipe Reyes, Dirk Nowitzki, Wonny Geuer, Fernando Romay, Pilar Valero (in memoriam), Luis Scola, Predrag Danilovic and Natalia Zassoulskaya. The event in Seville, which coincides with the centenary year of the Spanish Federation, also recognized the work of two great coaches, Bozidar Maljkovic and Pepu Hernández; of two former referees, Vicente Sanchís and Ángel Sancha (in memoriam); of the ACB League and the Gigantes del Basket magazine.
More information
“It is an honor. It is a moment to unite many of us. For me to explain such a wonderful career is difficult. All that remains is to thank many things to many people. It is important to continue investing in sport so that many dreams come forward. I was able to pursue my dream,” said Pau, a double NBA ring with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010, and with 216 games and 11 medals with the Spanish team. One of those great achievements was the gold he won in the 2006 World Cup, with Pepu Hernández on the national team bench. “Thank you to basketball, especially for allowing me to be a training coach. Basketball is a generous, supportive, unbeatable environment for raising children. Basketball is a refuge in the storm,” commented Pepu upon receiving the award from the FEB and the newspaper As.
Pau shared the stardom of the night with Laia Palau, who retired from professional basketball in the summer of 2022 after a successful career with the clubs (33 titles) and with the national team, with which she won 12 medals, another absolute record. “All of us who are here share the love for basketball, it continues to accompany us. Thank you all for continuing to build this, for having that increasingly complicit look towards women’s basketball. This sport has been an excuse to be who I am, and being a woman we do not have the same facilities. I feel like a reference for everyone. I have always wanted to be a team member and without my teammates I would not be here. Together we can build the world a little better. See you on the road,” commented Laia Palau.
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on Facebook and Xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
2023-10-20 06:12:36
#promotion #Pau #Gasol #Laia #Palau #shines #Spanish #basketball #Hall #Fame #Basketball #Sports
