Alimerka Oviedo Baloncesto presented its new mascot, Pumarix, yesterday in the match against Melilla Ciudad del Deporte. An Asturian warrior who brings together in his broad figure the fighting spirit inherited from the 20 years in which the club has worked in the old Pumarín pavilion. He did it hand in hand with Cartonajes Viran Asturian family business, which has joined the project as the club’s new sponsor.
Pumarix, the spirit of Pumarín
In the Pumarín warehouse, where the balls are kept, where there are chairs, nets for the baskets, tools to adjust the hoops, under a pile of junk, a few days ago a goblin appeared. Seriously, a leprechaun.
The fact is that many people had heard of him, some said that he was not a goblin but a mythological character, others that he was a magician, and still others spoke of a goblin. Supernatural miracles were attributed to him.
Everything indicates that the one who had appeared was none other than Pumarix, who was already in the place where the sports center is located before it was even built. He arrived from nearby Naranco and there acquired powers that he would later use to defend all the Oviedo Baloncesto teams when they faced others from other parts of Asturias and Spain.
In appearance, Pumarix was little, small, short arms and hairy. But when he started dribbling the ball he transformed. It was pure nerve, pure muscle. He jumped over the tallest center, he scored the shot of the most skilled guard, he was capable of putting a block over the rim as if it had springs. He did all this so quickly that no one was able to see it, although the people who came to Pumarín said they felt it, experiencing what became known as the Pumarín effect, which was nothing other than Pumarix doing one of his tricks.
His is the responsibility for feats such as getting the OCB to win a game when they were losing by 1 point in less than a second and with free throws for the rival. What he did on those pitches to still have a chance to win can only be the work of a supernatural being. Palencia suffered it in the play-off, Coruña in a League match and, as the seasons went by, all the teams that passed through Oviedo at some point suffered its spell.
Pumarix had to work hard in recent years, use all its powers, so that the OCB continued to be that club loved and respected on all fields. He ended up a little exhausted and went to rest in the summer of 2025. When he woke up in the last week of August, like the previous 20 years, he did not hear the ball bounce and, surprised, he had to ask the janitor: he told him that the first team would never play again in Pumarín, which had a new place to play its games. Nothing less than the Sports Palace. Pumaríx couldn’t believe it but autumn soon arrived and with September the boys and girls from the quarry, the coaches and the people of the club. Pumarix decided that he was going to continue living with them: He was the guardian of the essences.
But he began to hear what was happening at the Palace, that almost 5,000 people went to see the OCB each game and that it was necessary to bring the spirit of Pumarín there. Today, a few months later, Pumaríx is back and has finally decided to make himself known, show himself and bring the magic of Pumarín to a place where he also feels comfortable. His powers work here too. The spirit of Pumarín has arrived at the Palace.
Worth a look
