GironaTwenty years after its foundation, Uni Girona beats with more force than ever. The club, which was the result of the unlikely union of the Santa Eugènia and Vedruna women’s teams, is experiencing one of its most exciting stages. “The essence is summed up in two things. The first is generosity, because at the time two entities that could not see each other reached an agreement to work together. There are many people behind these twenty years. Managers and sponsors who have moved because they believed in the project. And the institutions, of course. We had to fight, and it was not easy. This is the other characteristic: our struggle”. Pere Puig, sports director and one of the key people in the foundation of Uni Girona, summarizes the virtues of the club that debuted in the 2005-06 season in the Copa Catalunya.
Journalist Jordi Roura, editor-in-chief of Sports and Culture of the Girona newspaperhas summarized in a book (Uni Girona: 20 years of basketball and successes) the two decades of Uni Girona’s life. “When Jordi told us that he had an idea to write our chronology, from the first moment we told him yes. It is nice to have it written, because we have been pioneers in many things”, says Cayetano Pérez, president of Uni Girona. The work has 264 pages and includes more than 200 photographs.
“I wanted there to be a written legacy of Uni’s summary, and taking advantage of the twenty years, with the merger on the Básquet Girona table, it was a good time to take it forward. We have focused on the different adventures of each season. With the archive work I have remembered things that I had forgotten. There have been very critical moments. Every summer, at the beginning, the feasibility of continuing the following season was studied. The lowest classification is a fifth place, Uni has always been a top team. And how many good moments it has experienced: especially the first League with Roberto Íñiguez, on April 23, 2015. Fontajau exploded that day, with more than 5,000 spectators, which forced the doors of the pavilion to be closed in a duel declared free of charge,” explains Roura.
“Dare to talk about titles”
The ephemeris is accompanied by a very hopeful progression of Spar Girona. The absence of Mariam Coulibaly adds an extra point of difficulty for the team coached by Roberto Íñiguez. “It is very daring to talk about titles. Our title is to see the response of the pavilion, for example, on the days of Valencia and Perfumerías Avenida. To check the delivery of the people and see how we compete is our title. If one came it would be incredible, but now it is very daring to talk about it”, warns Puig. The Spar Girona season invites you to dream. “We are going with the handbrake and we will not move from day to day, but it is clear that time is passing and we are still at the top. It would be very historic to qualify for the final six of the Euroleague”, he acknowledges.
The evolution of the club is pathetic. “First we won a title, then we went to the Euroleague, later we experienced some quarter-finals… That’s why I say that being in the final six would be another historical milestone. But we won’t put any kind of pressure on ourselves and we don’t need additional motivations”, says Puig, the great architect of Spar Girona. “When we thought about the team in the summer, we had in mind that we wanted to compete for the League. We built a group with quality, but aware that it was short. The players had ambition and were coming to grow, and we were convinced that they wanted to make a group. We are happy with how it went and hopeful. The performance in the League and the Euroleague, plus the fact of winning the Catalan League, excites us. But I know that the level of demand from the coaching staff is very high and that only by maintaining this line will we be able to continue competing,” he says.
“This team cheers us up, because that’s what it generates, and we’re satisfied to see how the results have been achieved. And now what’s left? To continue enjoying and giving enjoyment. Beyond whether we win or not, what we want is to continue competing, which we’ve done despite illnesses and injuries”, he concludes.
Aiko Tanaka is a combat sports journalist and general sports reporter at Archysport. A former competitive judoka who represented Japan at the Asian Games, Aiko brings firsthand athletic experience to her coverage of judo, martial arts, and Olympic sports. Beyond combat sports, Aiko covers breaking sports news, major international events, and the stories that cut across disciplines — from doping scandals to governance issues to the business side of global sport. She is passionate about elevating the profile of underrepresented sports and athletes.
