Spanish basketball is a phrase that makes the fans of this wonderful game alert and freeze in anticipation of a real sports show. “Barcelona”, “Unicaja”, “Real Madrid”, “Valencia” - the legendary clubs, the mere mention of which any basketball player can shake his knees, because these are great teams with a rich history.
Glorious traditions
Spain, in addition to football and bullfighting, is famous all over the world for its basketball gifts and regalia. It is difficult to imagine a basketball tournament in which the national team of this country would not take one of the prizes. In the general FIBA ranking for the current day, the Spaniards are second only to the invincible US team. At the 2016 Olympics in the match for bronze, the formidable Australian team was defeated, which, incidentally, came exclusively for gold. Character, will, professionalism - all this is the Spanish national basketball team.
National championship
The Spanish Basketball Championship is held under the auspices of a special organization called the Association of Basketball Clubs. It consists of 18 teams from different parts of the country. Basketball in Spain has always been famous for fierce battles and tense outcomes. Nevertheless, history puts everything in its place and at the moment there are no serious competitors for a team called Real Madrid. Over the entire history of this tournament, Real Madrid won the national championship 33 times, while its closest rival Barcelona raised the championship cup 18 times over its head. Teams from Bilbao, Hoventut, Basque Country and many other cities also participate in the championship. The final series of the championship lasts until one of the teams wins 3 matches. In 2016, Real Madrid became the champion of the country again, once again glorifying its proud name in particular, as well as basketball in Spain in general.
Basketball Federation of Spain
The main body in the country responsible for basketball in Spain is the Spanish Basketball Federation. It was founded almost 100 years ago, in 1923, and the legendary Fidel Brickall became its first president. Spanish basketball clubs are incredibly titled, and in terms of the total number of trophies are second only to Italian. It is not surprising that every year a large number of players leave for a draft in the NBA: Pau and Mark Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Jose Calderon, as well as many, many others have already managed to write their names not only in the history of Spanish basketball, but also in the glorious history of national basketball associations. In addition, the basketball federation oversees the work of the national teams. For example, the main women's team is the 1993 European champion, as well as three-time bronze medalist of the Eurobasket.
Basketball in Spain is known worldwide for its frantic speeds, unexpected assists, crushing dunks, unpredictable coaching decisions, as well as crazy fans in a good sense of the word. In an interview recently, NBA champion Pau Gasol said: "Spain is forever in my heart, this is my home, which I am always ready to return to and for which I am ready to fight."