“The best women’s basketball in Castilla-La Mancha” will be played in Toledo with the final of the First National Cup – News Toledo and Province

Toledo will be the scene of one of the most important sports competitions of the season: the final of the Castilla-La Mancha First National Women’s Basketball Cup. This is the Ribérsalat League that is played by both teams from the region and from Extremadura.

The event will begin this Saturday, the 28thwith the semifinals reached by the two teams representing Toledo: the Basketball Polygon Toledo and the THE TOLEDO. It will be the latter who will act as host, so his pavilion, that of the Labor Universitywill be the scene of the best women’s basketball in Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and the regional capital.

Nearly a hundred people, including players and coaches, will meet in Toledo in a “fought sports show with three of the most powerful Castilian-La Mancha teams,” says the captain of the CEI Toledo First National Women’s Championship, Celia Serrano, in an interview with Toledodiario.es.

“For those who haven’t done it yet, this Cup could be the opportunity to see how women’s sport can please, move and concentrate a large number of people”, adds the player who considers that this competition is an “opportunity to make visible the women’s sport” and enjoy it. “The two semifinals will be close matches so you can enjoy a good afternoon of basketball, especially Castilian basketball and Toledo”.

Those from the CEI will open the event on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. playing against the Polígono. While San Antonio Cáceres and Club Baloncesto Albacete will fight to go to the final at 8:30 p.m., also on the 27th. The final will be on Sunday, the 29th, among the winning teams starting at 4:00 p.m.

“We will have a local derby with a very high level and quality,” says Ignacio Arena, coach of the CEI Women’s First National. “There is a lot of sporting activity in Toledo that is not just soccer, there is also basketball and with very good teams,” he adds.

Arena believes that “it is necessary to public support to give rise to basketball in general and especially women’s” so it encourages citizens to attend this sporting event and enjoy the four best women’s basketball teams in Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura.

Hosting the Women’s First National, “a pride” for Toledo

“We fought until the last day to sneak into the Cup,” says the captain of CEI Toledo, who is looking forward to one of the most important events in regional sports.

There are “nerves, but above all a lot of enthusiasm to do well in front of their fans”, says the coach of a Club that considers it “proud” to have this competition at its facilities.

First Women’s National of the CEI Toledo / Photography: ceded

“It is quite a challenge and a responsibility for us to stay with the organization and face the best teams in the League”, added the captain.

In addition, according to Arena, with this final they will make their commitment to women’s sport known. “Our team is a benchmark at the female level with a total of 12 teams of different categories, we are one of the clubs with the most licenses”.

The CEI Toledo, a benchmark in women’s basketball: “We can be proud”

Celia Serrano has played basketball for 25 years although, as is the case with most players, she is not a professional. “They are all fans, students and people who already work, who have been at the Club their whole lives and continue to play,” explains his coach. “We don’t have anyone strictly professional but we will see matches of a very good level.”

“At the end of this we cannot live,” laments a player who has made sport her life, first competing in the youth ranks of Argamasilla de Alba (Ciudad Real), her hometown, then at Toledo and currently also at work. since he studied Teaching in the specialty of physical education and later Sports Sciences.

“I played in Argamasilla until I was 21, I came to Toledo to study at the age of 18 and from the 2009-2010 season I joined Toledo, where I have been for the last 14 years,” says Serrano who, in addition to being a teacher, is a coach for two teams of CEI girls. “When you like it and you have the opportunity to continue training and playing, you combine everything,” she says.

The abandonment of the sporting habit is seen more in girls”

However, the athlete is aware that “continuing is not easy”, as can be seen among the older female categories of the CEI Toledo. “I train cadets and juniors and it is true that at these ages all the girls who are not really hooked end up leaving it to give priority to their studies”, she tells us. “The abandonment of the sporting habit is seen more in girls.”

Serrano looks to the future with optimism, assuring that gender inequality within the Club “is being overcome”. “There are more and more girls that they not only sign up, but also establish themselves and continue playing”, he assures.

According to the captain, public institutions, among which the Toledo City Council stands out, are contributing to this change. “The City Council is betting on women’s sports with many activities to promote equality and we believe that bringing a best women’s basketball event that there is in the community of Castilla-La Mancha is a very good opportunity to give it visibility”.

“Within the club we can be very proud in terms of gender equality since we have almost reached it, in fact last year the number of registered girls exceeded that of boys”, adds Serrano who considers that we must continue fighting to maintain these figures. . “we are doing a good job and today, and not only in our club, more girls play sports and become established in sports. It is something to be proud of but also to continue working and fostering this trend.

The role of institutions

As you remember from the CEI Toledo, all the matches of this Cup are completely free thanks to institutional support, especially from the Toledo City Council or the Castilla-La Mancha Basketball Federation (FBCLM).

“We don’t have the economic level to organize this type of event,” says the coach, who stresses that holding this league will be a way to launch his new pavilion. “Now we have a completely renovated pavilion thanks to the center of the Labor University and the General Directorate of Education.”

For their part, from the Federation, they highlight that the celebration of the RibéSalat Cup in Toledo “clearly marks the support of local, provincial and regional institutions for our competitions and even more so for women’s basketball, where the FBCLM has been working for that for years.” real equality”, assures Carlos Delgado, director of the Federation.

“Equality can only be achieved by working towards all competitions having the same importance and significance in all aspects”, maintains Delgado. For this reason, the attendance of representatives of the Consistory is expected, such as the Councilor for Sports and the Councilor for Equality, but also the FBCLM.