The first champion in its history, the success of the Final Four format, full arenas and a record following. It has only taken one season for the LF Challenge to consolidate itself within the structure of Spanish women’s basketball.
A record Barça on and off the track.
27 wins and 3 losses is the balance of the great season of a Barça that has already gone down in history by becoming the champion of the first LF Challenge. It has been this regularity in the results that has allowed the Blaugrana team to remain in the first position that granted direct promotion. But many other factors have intervened, such as the strength of a squad in which national talent has been combined, the contribution of international signings and the appearance of young promises. But beyond all the qualities that describe this Barça on the court, the best has been off it and that is that under the motto ‘Ubuntu’ the team has responded to the most important challenge of the course, that of supporting Ahinoa López in the most difficult moments.The success of the Final Four that crowned the Hozono Global Jairis. A new format is always risky but in this case the bet has paid off and this Final Four at Alcantarilla has been a success. Fausto Vicent hung the sold-out sign and it is not for less given the sporting level that the four participating teams offered, Hozono Global Jairis, Recoletas Zamora, Manuela Fundación Raca and Vantage Towers Alcobendas. It was the team from Murcia that won the second ticket for LF Endesa by winning an exciting final against Recoletas Zamora.
The entire league on CanalFEB.tv; Twitch puts the icing on the cake. An average of 600 spectators per match and close to 5,000 on each day confirm that this newly created league has had a huge following. The finishing touch to these data is put by the audiences of the Final Four and that is that during the three games played last weekend in Alcantarilla, the official Twitch channel of the Spanish Basketball Federation exceeded the 8,000 viewers and 21,000 views.
Overturned hobby. The LF Challenge has achieved other milestones in its first year of existence. The Fausto Vicent that hosted the Final Four completed its 1,200 locations but it is that during the regular season there have been great feats in terms of attendance. The Palau Blaugrana hosted the Barça CBS-Vantage Towers Alcobendas which was attended by almost 4,000 people, a figure similar to that of the Palace of Sports of Granada in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Playoffs between the Manuela Fundación RACA and the Osés Construccion Ardoi in which 4,300 spectators gathered.
High level proper names. The signing of the one who ended up being the Final Four MVP, Erika de Souza (Hozono Global Jairis), revolutionized the summer market, as did the arrival of Nuria Martinez to Barça in the final stretch of the season. Other names that have left their mark have been Ana Pocekwhich completed the CAB Estepona Jardín Costa Sol squad to become the undisputed MVP of the regular league, or the Martha Cinnamona 3×3 European champion who has led Barça throughout the course. Gala Mestres (Recollect Zamora), Claudia Contell (NB Paterna), Adrijana Knezevic (Advisoria Maresme), Juana Molina (Azkoitia Azpeitia ISB) o Helen Nauwelaers (Manuela Fundación RACA), are included in a long list of players who have passed through the LF Endesa and who have stood out in their debut in LF Challenge.
A space for each type of project. This season all kinds of projects have coexisted. From clubs with a huge tradition and structure like Celta Zorka Recalvi, Recoletas Zamora, Alter Enersun Al-Qázeres, Vantage Towers Alcobendas, Lima Horta Barcelona, Azkoitia Azpeitia ISB or Sinergia Soluciones Real Canoeeven clubs that live their first seasons in the elite as has been the case of Irons Díaz Extremadura Miral, the CAB Estepona, Osés Construction Ardoi or the NB Paterna. Together with this, projects have coexisted that, without having a long journey, have made a firm commitment to women’s basketball, as is the case of Hozono Global Jairis or the Manuela Fundación Raca.
After declines in Irons Diaz Extremadura and Advisoria Maresme and the two ascents of Barca and Hozono Globalfour new tenants will try the second edition of this LF Challenge, which for the first time will travel to the Canary Islands with the presence of the two teams from Tenerife, Clarinos Tenerife and Vega Lagunera Toyota. Along with them, we will see the premiere of two historic women’s basketball, the BAXI Ferrol and the Picken Claret.
