On Friday 31 January, as part of the centenary of the Jaume Huguet Institute in Valls, and with the approval and collaboration of the Penya Barcelonista Alt Camp de Valls (Federació Tarragonès Nord), the premiere of the event ‘Llegendaris Bàsquet’ (Legends of Basketball) took place. This is a new exercise in historical recognition that in this case focuses on the blaugrana basketball section, and does so with the presence of guest legends and audiovisual documents of various highlights of the nearly 100 years of this section’s trajectory. The event filled the auditorium of the Institut Jaume Huguet with more than a hundred people in attendance and was hosted by Salva Torres, vice-president of the Confederació Mundial de Penyes.
The history, explained by its protagonists
The beginning showed a historical and photographic tour of the Barça basketball section from its foundation in 1926 to the 1970s. This included a virtual greeting from the writer Francesc Fernández, author of the book ‘Història del Barça de bàsquet 1926-1940’ (published by Editorial Base, with a second part to be published shortly). Next, the three great protagonists of ‘Llegendaris Bàsquet’ appeared on stage: the former players Manolo Flores, Juan Domingo ‘Lagarto’ de la Cruz and Andrés Jiménez.
With the support of photographs and videos, the three guests shared comments and anecdotes of milestones such as the finals of the 80s (highlighting the European Cup Winners’ Cup in Grenoble) or the intense play-offs of the 1988/89 League. On the other hand, the intervention of Oriol Burch and Jordi Andreu, Physical Education teachers specialized in basketball, added a more technical part with the contributions of the former players. The event also included a heartfelt tribute to Chicho Sibilio, a moment that touched the guests and many of the attendees.
At the end of the event, and in the presence of the director of the Institut Jaume Huguet, Josep Maria Soler, and the Sports Councillor of the City Council of Valls, Enric Garcia, the school gave a commemorative gift to each former player. For his part, Salva Torres gave a copy of ‘Història del Barça de bàsquet 1926-1940’ to the three guests, the school and the City Council of Valls. In addition, Manolo Flores presented the centre with a shirt signed by some players from the first basketball team. The satisfaction of all parties was a significant sign of the good start of this new initiative.
