The Palacio de los Deportes de León will host the last game of the qualifying phase for Eurobasket 2025 on Sunday, February 23, which will pit Spain against Belgium. The party presentation event was attended by Elisa Aguilar, President of the FEB; José Antonio Diez Díaz, Mayor of León; and Óscar Castañeda, President of the FBCyL.
This morning, the León City Council hosted the presentation event of the qualification match for Eurobasket 2025 that will pit Spain against Belgium next Sunday, February 23 at 5:00 p.m. at the Palacio de los Deportes in León. Present were Elisa Aguilar, President of the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB); José Antonio Diez Díaz, Mayor of León; and Óscar Castañeda, President of the Castilla y León Basketball Federation (FBCyL).
This match marks the return of #LaFamilia to León eleven years after they played their last match in the city, a friendly in preparation for Eurobasket 2013 resolved with a 77-55 victory over North Macedonia. The previous official match played by the Men’s National Team in the city dates back to January 25, 2003, when the team then led by Moncho López beat Greece (94-91). In total, to date, Spain has played a total of eleven matches in León.
Once the defense of its European crown was secured in the Ventana held last November, Sergio Scariolo’s team will close the qualifying phase for next summer’s Eurobasket against Belgium. Three days before playing in León, they will play the penultimate qualifying match against Latvia in Riga.
Elisa Aguilar: “A key match to be seeded”
“As President of the Federation I want to thank the mayor of León and the president of the Federation of Castilla y León for being able to bring the Absolute Men’s National Team here. León has always been a basketball city. For us it is a pride to be able to return to the legendary Sports Palace of León. We know that we are going to be supported by a fan that always welcomes us with open arms.
Although fortunately we have sealed the qualification for Eurobasket 2025, I want to focus on how important the game we are going to play here in León is. Every time a player puts on the National Team shirt they have an obligation to go out and win. It’s in our DNA. In addition, it gives us the possibility of adding points towards the FIBA World Ranking, which will allow us to be seeded for the next Eurobasket draw.”
José Antonio Diez Díaz: “We thank the FEB for its commitment to León”
“Thank you to the Spanish Basketball Federation for the commitment to the City of León and agreeing to the requests of the Federation of Castilla y León and the City Council so that León can host this great meeting. I appreciate this important commitment.”
Óscar Castañeda: “León is a guarantee of success for our National Team”
“The city of León has earned that the Section comes here to play. You can see that basketball in León is united, when we go to the Second FEB games and find a León with 4,500 fans watching the game, we know that this is a guarantee of success for our National Team: the future and the present of our basketball.” .
