EThis Friday a new season of the Endesa Women’s League began and this Saturday Movistar Estudiantes debuts against Celta Femxa Zorka. The schoolgirls will have in their ranks two of the most high-profile players in the competition, Juana Camilión and Gracia Alonso de Armiño, two of the heroines of the 3×3 basketball team who got the silver medal at the Games and shortly after he won European. Sandra Ygueravide also starts with the Spar Girona while Vega Gimeno He abandoned the 5×5.
Ask. Recovered from so many summer emotions?
Juana Camilión. The truth is that it has been a non-stop summer. We have also finished and connected directly with the 5×5. We have had to change the chip, but with the emotions I think I am still dreaming, I don’t want to wake up. I’m still amazed by what we’ve done. Little by little we are putting our feet on the ground.
Ask. And it all started with a backhanded basket. I don’t know if you believe it or if you’re tired of being asked about the basket.
Grace Alonso de Armiño. Let’s see, it’s part of history, of what happened and I love remembering it. It’s a bit of the magic of 3×3 and what we have been able to start dreaming about this summer. It could have closed the cycle in the same way it began [risas]. It was an anecdote, a shot of pure intuition and it has given us so much joy and helped us dream this summer.
Q. Have you seen the play many times?
G. A. A lot. Lots of times.
Q. When you have a bad day you put it on…
G. A. At all speeds and from all angles [risas].
J. C. Me too [risas]. Flipo also seeing that basket. I see it too and hairs on end and everything.
I’ve seen my basket from behind tons of times. At all speeds and from all angles
Q. How does it feel to be on an Olympic podium?
J. C. I wouldn’t know how to explain it to you. The moment we stepped onto the podium and the four of us walked up together was an incredible feeling of: “We’ve done it. What did we just do?”
G. A. I believe that it is a memory that lasts a lifetime and in the end you see the images and it takes you to that place, to those sensations with family and friends who could accompany us. For us it is a very important moment in our career and we are very proud to be able to tell it and to continue being healthy and to be able to face a new season with the same enthusiasm. It is true that little by little we are gaining sensations because it has been quite a hard and long summer.
Juana Camilión and Gracia Alonso de Armiño show the medals they won this summer.
Q. The podium moment is the most important moment, but I don’t know if there is a special memory from the entire summer, whether at the Games or the European Championship.
J. C. I always say that the anecdote with the King. Meeting His Majesty and not knowing how to greet him. That one will always stick with me. And then also the other day we were talking, remembering the moment after the inauguration ceremony. When we got off the boat there were two options: go to the Villa or continue along the Trocadero and we were the only four of the entire Spanish delegation who walked. It was incredible to be there walking in the rain. It was very fun and very nice
G. A. Especially the moment when we are under the Eiffel Tower, with our raincoat and a good storm falling. We were the survivors of the parade representing Spain. It is a very nice memory.
Q. Have they changed after the medals?
J. C. No. Change itself outside of basketball, no. The fact of coming here or walking through Magariños and having people stop us has changed. They congratulate us, they congratulate us, social networks have also gone up, there are people contacting us, teammates with whom I have played as a mini or my primary physical education teachers… On a day-to-day basis nothing has changed. We are still Gracia and Juana. That never changes.
The medals have not changed us at all. We continue to be Juana and Gracia
G. A. In the end it does help you improve yourself and each person as a player. There are many people who stop you and transmit to you that emotion that they have experienced with you, that desire, that illusion that we have been able to transmit. It is the most beautiful thing of all and it reinforces you both as a person and as a player. Self-confidence and self-confidence grows for the next season.
Q. Do you feel, along with Sandra Ygueravide and Vega Gimeno, like pioneers for having put the 3X3 in the spotlight?
J. C. You could say yes, we have been pioneers. I’ve been there for two summers. I haven’t been there as long as Sandra and Vega or even Gracia, who had been training with them for many years. The 3×3 has always been there, although it is true that thanks to the Games and what we have achieved it has grown and has become much more known. It is an honor to have been part of that, to have helped 3×3 to grow, to strengthen itself and we hope that it continues like this for many years and continues to grow. Everything we can help and continue spreading the word, we will do that.
Vega Gimeno, Sandra Ygueravide, Juana Camilión and Gracia Alonso de Armiño, on the podium at the Paris Games.
Q. Be honest: Do you like 3×3 or 5×5 better?
J. C. Right now we are forced to say 5×5 [risas]. It is true that 3×3 has given us a lot. I love it. I really like the dynamism, what it gives you, it’s very fun.
G. A. 3×3 is like life itself: it happens very quickly and you get hit along the way [risas]. The atmosphere in general is very fun, what is created, the music… It’s like a party and people have a great time.
3×3 is like life itself: it happens very quickly and you get hit along the way
Q. The places where it is played, which are always spectacular.
J. C. Of course, of course, too.
G. A. Everything contributes. And the squad is smaller, you feel much more, not important, because you are important in the 5×5 too, but everything is magnified more when there are only four of us. You have to go to every appointment. You can’t erase yourself, you can’t do half. In 5×5, everything is dilated a little and there are many players who can contribute, but in 3×3 you have to be one hundred percent for your teammates and for yourself as well and be there for 10 minutes until the end of each game.
Q. Does your complicity in 3×3 transfer to 5×5?
J. C. Yes, yes, of course. We have gotten to know each other more. We have been competing together for two years and we understand each other a lot. We also help each other. If I don’t see something, she lets me know. We are almost together 24/7 and then it shows on the track.
We have been competing together for two years and we understand each other a lot. We are almost together 24/7 and then on the track it shows
Q. And what do you expect from the season with Movistar Estudiantes? Last year, Cup semifinals and playoffs. Is it the ceiling, the objective…?
J. C. We are a totally new team. Gracia, Paula Sarabia and I are the only ones who have returned from last year and the ones who have a little experience, although I only have one year. The objectives, Copa de la Reina, playoffs, but more than anything to be ourselves, work and improve day by day, game by game, and give surprises if we can and enjoy this season.
G. A. Yes, and, of course, competing in the Eurocup, which will give us much more distance to forge a good team and be able to finish in high positions in Europe.
