That money does not guarantee happiness, nor sporting success, can be said loudly by Movistar Estudiantes, who this Sunday once again hit the wall of promotion to the ACB after losing the LEB Oro final at home against the Força Lleida (70-85), and therefore will remain in the second category of Spanish basketball for the fourth year in a row. It was an afternoon of local drama at the Madrid Arena for a historic club, one of the six founders of the National League in 1957, an entity recognizable by the seal of training and youth system that has always distinguished it. In its first attempt at a comeback, in 2022, Estu lost in the decisive match against Marc Gasol’s Bàsquet Girona after having been first in the class in the regular season. The following year came a defeat in the quarterfinals against San Pablo Burgos. And this season, after a fourth place in the league (first for eight games), a new downturn, even harder if possible, as host against Lleida.
Neither a dedicated fan base nor a high budget have managed to lift the collegiate team to the ACB. Only San Pablo Burgos, with 1.5 million, surpassed Estu (1.1 million) in the coffers this year, but neither of them have been promoted, defeated in the semi-finals and final by Lleida. Leyma Coruña captured the direct promotion spot with a million budget, for the 750,000 euros of the Lleida club. Going up costs more and more, and the competition will increase again next year with San Pablo, Betis, Fuenlabrada and the relegated Palencia and Obradoiro. Nor was the push of some 7,000 student subscribers enough, only behind the 9,000 from Burgos, who have made a pilgrimage to three pavilions: the WiZink Center, their usual home, the Magariños when they had to move for some meetings at Christmas, and the Madrid Arena in the Final Four.
The castle collapsed in a final that barely existed after the 0-14 start, with the first local basket after eight minutes and a funeral atmosphere. “There has been no match. We shot 5 of 34 in the first two quarters, the morale drop came and from then on it was just suffering. In the locker room there are 12 guys crying, apologizing to each other,” said the coach, Pedro Rivero; “We talk about pressure, yes or yes. Today it was no. People pushed and did not let us leave without encouraging us,” he added.
The disappointment places Estu back at the crossroads. The economic situation remains delicate, despite the fact that the debt, which reached 20 million euros, has been reduced to 5.8. The support from the institutions, they regret, is almost non-existent (75,000 euros). On the court, the quarry philosophy is not touched despite the complexity of the times. The club has more than 2,500 youth players in 100 men’s and women’s teams, in addition to 150 technicians, 200 people in schools for players with physical and intellectual disabilities and another 2,000 young people in summer camps. In the women’s category, the club has been champion of Spain for children, juniors and winner of the Mini Cup this year. As for the seniors, Hugo López, Adams Sola and Carlos Suárez have joined the first team as youth players this year, although the former finished the season on loan at Oviedo.
“The LEB Oro is a complicated category, because more and more teams are joining that do things well. That’s where a special club like Estudiantes competes. His philosophy is what defines him and that is why he has sponsors. You can’t shoot yourself in the foot, you can’t lose your identity,” explains Nacho Azofra, the player with the most games, 681, in collegiate history. Pepu Hernández, a leading coach who went through the youth academy between 1974 and 1990 and then in the first team until 2005 and in 2011-12, Cup champion and League runner-up, goes along the same lines: “The difficulty is inherent to history from students. Also now, when he is experiencing complicated years trying to return to his rightful place. The identity has always been there and it would be a shame if it were changed. Students is also education in sports. It is true that it has lost some capabilities and that it is increasingly difficult for players to come out. The quarry has given us joy when the first team supplies it. Without being in the ACB it is more difficult, and there is a lack of support from the institutions. But we have to continue being ourselves. We will try again.”
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