On September 18, the Spanish men's basketball team gave a surprise in the EuroBasket 2022 final by defeating France 88-76. Scariolo's men, with a team in full reconstruction, did not start as favorites. But effort, commitment and competitiveness also help to score points, reach finals and win them and, with those wickers, Spain clinched gold in an unforgettable championship.
That victory is already in the past and today the ambition is focused on fighting for the victory in the World Championship that is held in the months of August and September in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. And even further. Because a year later, in 2024, the Olympic Games in Paris are held, the great event of world sport in which basketball will once again be one of the main protagonists.
During the exciting journey to Paris, Spanish basketball will once again have an ally that has been key to its successes in recent years: CaixaBank. The financial entity has just renewed its sponsorship of the Spanish Basketball Federation until the expected 2024.
This link also works as a basic support for the women's basketball team, which awaits no fewer challenges in the next two years. There are only a few months left for the EuroBasket dispute between Slovenia and Israel, and their aspiration is clear: to repeat the success of their teammates, in addition to the determination to be protagonists a year later at the Olympics.
The signing of the agreement between the FEB and CaixaBank, which maintains its commitment as sponsor and financial partner of Spanish basketball until 2024, occurs ten years after the relationship between the two parties began. And to continue with round figures: the extension of the link is also the best gift for a Spanish Basketball Federation that this year celebrates its centenary.
Precisely if one word has been constant in these ten years of relationship between the two entities, it has been celebration. Because Spanish basketball has experienced an incredible decade of sporting glory. Suffice it to point out something never seen before: in 2022, the Spanish Basketball Federation managed to position itself, for the first time in its history, as number 1 in the FIBA ranking thanks to the victories of its teams.
The data is indisputable: a gold medal at the World Cup with the men's team in 2019; four golds in the men's and women's Europeans in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022; two medals in the men's and women's categories at the Rio Olympics; three bronzes at the EuroBasket in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Over the last decade, the podium has become the most common habitat for FEB teams, always with the support of CaixaBank.
During the signing of the sponsorship renewal agreement, the president of CaixaBank, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, and his FEB counterpart, Jorge Garbajosa, wanted to highlight their commitment to defending values shared by the two institutions. "Thanks to the intense relationship we maintain with the FEB", Goirigolzarri highlighted, "we join efforts to jointly promote values that we share with basketball, such as effort, teamwork and individual talent available to the collective".
Because the link between CaixaBank and the Spanish Basketball Federation goes much further than a simple sponsorship, as Jorge Garbajosa has recognized, who has pointed out that during this decade "the limits of sponsorship have been exceeded to become accomplices and colleagues". And it is that, although the most visible face of the relationship is in the absolute selections, the financial institution is committed to also reaching the youngest and those who do not dedicate themselves professionally to this sport, but simply enjoy the values it transmits.
"I want to thank not only the decision of the president and the leadership of CaixaBank to continue betting on our absolute national teams", Garbajosa declared, "but also their desire to contribute to the development of young talents in our training categories, as well as the will to continue spreading the knowledge and practice of basketball among fans”.
CaixaBank has been an essential part of the main basket sport events that have been held in Spain over the last ten years, both professional and amateur. For example, being an official sponsor of top-level events such as the 2014 Men's World Cup, which was held in Spain, or the Women's Basketball World Cup, which took place in Tenerife in 2018. But also in amateur tournaments, which have achieved great relevance among fans and amateurs and have managed to increase the passion for basketball of thousands of people. A paradigmatic example, the Plaza 3x3 CaixaBank circuit, in which the entity has been involved since its creation.
Precisely, the renewal of the agreement between the entities will mean the launch of a new edition of this championship, which has already held 10 editions and has become the largest free outdoor 3x3 basketball event. Up to now, more than 50,000 players have participated in it, with more than 300,000 spectators enjoying their skills with the ball in the 113 sports days held in cities throughout Spain.
One more example that the commitment between CaixaBank and the FEB reaches elite sport, but also anyone who wants to enjoy a game whose greatest success lies in the values it transmits.
